Telangana different from Gorkhaland: Jaswant.... Gorkhaland also qualifies for statehood- Delhi GJM

SNS, Kurseong, 4 October 2013: The Darjeeling MP, Mr Jaswant Singh today said that the Telangana and Darjeeling statehood issues should not be clubbed together.

“Two are different in their respective perspectives. But it does not mean that while Telangana is conceded Gorkhaland would continue to be ignored,” he said in Darjeeling today. 

“True, Darjeeling cannot be compared to Telangana. But we should not lose sight of the fact that the demand of statehood for the Hills under Bengal is old, dating back to over a century. I am convinced the emotion behind it would find fruition one day, though the present situation is not conducive,” he said. 

He further claimed he had lent support to the demand for Gorkhaland much before he had become the MP from the place. “My views are unchanged. I believe the demand is justified and I would cling on to it in future too,” the senior BJP leader said.

Gorkhaland also qualifies for statehood- Delhi GJM

KalimNews, PR, Delhi, 4 October: The rationale of the Union Government for granting statehood has invited criticism from across the region of Seemandhra of Andhra Pradesh. In the context of Gorkhaland the Chief Minister of Bengal has openly hurled accusations to the central government that the center is trying to score brownie political points in view of the upcoming elections by conceding to the Telangana demand.  

Ranjan Sharma General Secretary of Delhi GJM says we are extremely happy for the creation of Telangana .  

The decision of the Central Government for giving a green signal to Telangana is on the basis of situation at the ground level, the aspiration and concern  of the people, the history of demand, the geography of the area, and the longevity of demand. 

Ranjan Sharma

However comparing the demand of Gorkhaland neck to neck with Telangana, we qualify on all the grounds quoted by the government. If history is taken into consideration, Telangana is  five decade old demand , whereas Gorkhaland has been more than 10 decade. If situation at the ground level is taken into consideration, the genesis of Gorkhaland demand is the issue of identity. Identity is not a major issue for Telangana, so in comparison our identitiy is at stake. If Telangana is the aspiration of the people Gorkhaland is equally an aspiration attached to the sentiments of the people. 

Telangana was merged in Andhra Pradesh in 1956, Darjeeling was merged in West Bengal through the Absorbed Areas Act 1954 and that too was a historical blunder. If it is geography qua the issue of security, Gorkhaland is much more important because it contains international boarders of Nepal, Bhutan, China, Bangladesh and commonly termed as chicken neck area connecting to the north east region which by itself most areas are disturbed areas meaning thereby that our geography is more sensitive than Telangana. 

Ranjan Sharma asks that if MP’s opposing the state bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh are moving Supreme Court challenging the government's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, announced last evening after the Union Cabinet approved a Home Ministry note on creating India's 29th state why can’t we move the Supreme Court asking the opinion of the highest court of the country as to why Gorkhaland cannot be created under Article 3 ? Ranjan says, is it because that Telangana consists of 10 districts, but we have only one district the reason for our setback?  

Is it because Telangana has 119 assembly seats and we have only 3 seats in the state Assembly? Is it because in comparison to Telangana we have a limited vote bank? Is it because we have limited resources and limited infrastructure? Is it because in comparison to the leaders of Telangana we have a limited political clout and nexus in the union cabinet? Is it due to limited assembly seats , the state government is rest assured that bill for consensus on Gorkhaland can never be passed in the Assembly?
In Andhra Pradesh, Congress lawmakers from Seemandhra have decided not to quit and instead prevent a resolution in support of Telangana in the state Assembly. The assembly has 294 seats with 119 falling in Telangana and 175 in Seemandhra. But Ranjan says there has been observations of the Supreme Court in numerous judgments that  that under Article 3 of the Constitution it is not mandatory for the President to comply with the opinion of the State Legislature.