Gurung, 42 others resign from GTA .. BJP suggested alternative model

MP, 23 Jun 2017 | Darjeeling: Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Chief Bimal Gurung along with 42 Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) elected and nominated members tendered their resignations from the GTA en masse.

While Gurung and two nominated GJM members sent their resignations to the Governor of West Bengal, the others tendered resignations to the Principal Secretary, GTA. In a press conference, Gurung in Darjeeling warned: "We have resigned from the GTA. There is no looking back now. The bandh will not be lifted and the ongoing agitation would be further beefed up. We will hold public meetings, rallies, dharnas and fast unto death with the one point demand of Gorkhaland."

On July 27, copies of the GTA Accord and Act will be torched as a mark of symbolic protest all over the Hills.

When questioned on bandh relaxation during the festival of Eid, Gurung stated: "People are not in the mood for festivals. We are in the midst of an agitation."

The all party meeting of pro-Gorkhaland forces has been postponed from June 24 to June 29. "We will prepare a roadmap for our future collective movement for Gorkhaland," added Gurung.

While Gurung is falling back on the BJP for Gorkhaland, the saffron camp suggested that an alternative model can be worked out for the Hills through the process of dialogue.

Reacting to the GTA resignations, Bengal Education minister stated: "It is an eye wash. People of the Hills know how sincere they are. The five-year tenure of the GTA comes to an end on June 30."

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling's letter to Union Home minister Rajnath Singh in support of Gorkhaland has sparked a backlash in the plains of Siliguri.

Locals demonstrated in front of the Sikkim National Transport depot in Siliguri and blocked the National Highway 10, the road connecting Gangtok to Siliguri.

Partha Chatterjee also sent a letter to the Union Home minister, complaining that Sikkim is interfering in the internal matters of Bengal. "What CM Pawan Chamling has done is against the federal structure of the country," stated the letter.

As the bandh hit the nine day mark, the Gorkha National Liberation Front brought out a rally for Gorkhaland in Darjeeling town on Friday, led by president Mann Ghising. Later Ghising addressing the rally stated: "This movement is larger than the GNLF or GJM. No one should try to compromise the movement. It is a people's movement." The comment comes in the wake of Gurung on Thursday evening declaring the all party meeting of pro-Gorkhaland forces a "closed chapter."

However, with mounting pressure from the masses to continue with the collective movement, Gurung on Friday declared that his statement has been misunderstood and misrepresented.

Turning volte-face, Gurung on Friday called for a collective movement and declared that the all party meeting would be held on June 29. After this development, as is evident, the BJP has received a jolt in the Hills. In a hasty attempt to make things look normal, Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP national general secretary and observer for Bengal, stated: "We do not support the separate state demand." The five-year tenure of the GTA ends on June 30.

(Source And Courtesy : http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/kolkata-248860