GTA & GJMM to attend CM’s programmes if invited: giri

SNS, Kurseong,16 January : The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) leadership will participate in all programmes wherever they have been invited during the CM’s Darjeeling Hills visit.

The GTA executive member and the GJMM general secretary, Mr Roshan Giri,said that they will participate and attend all programmes invited during the CM’s Darjeeling Hills visit. Notably, the state CM Mamata Banerjee is likely to visit different places in Darjeeling Hills from 20 to 23 January. As per the sources, she will visit Mirik on 20 January evening and address a meeting on 21 January mainly to the Tamang Community regarding the demand of a Tamang Development Board raised by them under the banner of the Tamang Youth Association next day. She is also likely to announce in favour of Tamang Development Board.

It was learnt that the GJMM and its GTA leadership do not want the formation of a Tamang or any development boards under the state government, for which they had even staged several programmes against such formations. Hence, on the same ground, there was high speculation that they might not attend the CM’s Darjeeling tour programmes, mainly in Mirik, where the CM is expected to address a meeting on the thorny demand of development boards.

But now, such scenario seems to be changing, as the GJMM and GTA leadership have now planned to attend the CM’s programme, despite their differences on the formation of development boards. As per the GJMM sources, they are ready to participate in all the CM’s programmes in Darjeeling Hills because presently there is no any stir between them and have decided to work for the development of Darjeeling Hills jointly. Even a section of the leadership believe that the development boards are a transfer subject and it will be negotiated any time between the state government and the GTA. Apart from this, the GTA chief executive Mr Bimal Gurung had frequently said that now they will not oppose the formation of any development boards, instead the government should form as many as they can for all the community residing in the Hills.

These may be the main reasons that when asked, Mr Giri said that they will participate in all Government programmes, where they would be invited during the CM’s Darjeeling Hills visit.

On 21 January evening, she will move for Darjeeling and accordingly on 22 January she will visit Sister Nivedita's House in Darjeeling to inaugurate different training institutions planned under the guidance of the Vedanta Missionary. On the same day, she will also participate in a programme at Lebong, in which, the players from the winning team of the recently Darjeeling police organised football tournament will be felicitated by the hands of the CM. On 23 January, she will visit Netaji House at Giddha Pahar in Kurseong on the occasion of Netaji's birth anniversary and later she will return back to Kolkata from the Hills.