In an apparent bid to exploit the sagging chemistry between the Trinamool Congress-ruled Bengal and the BJP-ruled Centre, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on Tuesday said it hope New Delhi will sincerely consider its long standing demand for a separate Gorkhaland State.
Gurung, who had on Tuesday called an all-party meeting, managed to extract some kind of acquiescence from its arch rival in the Hills GJM Gorkha National liberation Front and Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists for a “joint struggle towards ultimate goal of a separate State.” The State leaders of the BJP who were also present at the meeting were however non-committal on the issue.
“leaders of six parties had attended the all-party meeting and agreed to the proposal of a separate Gorkhaland State. Without achieving this, the problem of the people of hills will never be solved,” said GJM second in command Roshan Giri.
Hoping that Centre would consider the Statehood demand “compassionately”, he said “I am in constant touch with the Central Government and hopeful that our demand will be considered. I am sure they will understand our pain and the struggle, because the party in power in the Centre is our ally.”
He also reminded how the BJP had always been an advocate of smaller States. “Smaller States are ruled better and so the BJP has always been sympathetic towards smaller States,” he maintained even as Giri said there was no question of going back on the issue of a separate State as “the present Government in Kolkata will never allow GTA to function properly. They have never allowed us to work. So we thinkthat GTA has become an obsolete tool which will not solve the problem of the Hill people.”
Gurung and Giri’s outburst came at a time when Darjeeling entered the second day of indefinite bandh called by the hill outfit in favour of its demand. The police lathi-charged GJM supporters when they tried to break prohibitive orders and block roads at Darjeeling Chowk Bazar, Singhmari, Kurseong.
Darjeeling went up in flames last week when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was holding a Cabinet meeting along with 30 other Ministers at Raj Bhavan in the hill town. GJM supporters protesting Government decision to introduce Bengali as a must-read language in schools pelted stones, clashed with police and set more than a dozen vehicles afire forcing Banerjee to call out the Army.
While four columns of Army were deployed earlier, six additional columns were brought in on Tuesday following intelligence reports reaching Nabanna the State administrative headquarters in Kolkata that there could be more trouble in future.
The Chief Minister met top bureaucrats at an “emergency meeting” at Nabanna on Tuesday.
When reminded about the developmental works taking place in Darjeeling over the past few years, Gurung said “Mamata Banerjee should leave the people of the hills to fend for themselves. We can take care of us and there is no need for the outsiders to divide the people of the Darjeeling in the name of development.”
Attacking Banerjee for playing an opportunistic politics “which will cost her dearly,” Gurung said, “The Chief Minister who does not have regard for the Army is now forced to take its help in the hills. last year she criticised the Army for trying to stage a coup in Bengal and now she is requesting them to maintain law and order here.”