GJM to launch fresh agitations for separate statehood

EOI, Darjeeling 29 Sep 2015: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is set to announce a series of agitation programmes for a separate state following the alleged interference by the state government in the running of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. The GJM continues to assert that the state government was not letting the GTA function independently and in protest, asked its MLAs to resign and even threatened to start afresh the statehood movement.

Darjeeling MP and BJP leader SS Ahluwalia on Monday accused the state government of deliberately compelling the GJM to restart the statehood agitation ahead of the 2016 Assembly election in order to use the issue for the Trinamool Congress’ interests. GJM president Bimal Gurung today reportedly faxed a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reminding her about the tripartite GTA agreement signed in 2011 wherein it has been laid down that the hill body would be self-contained with the objective to

administer and expedite the socio-economic, infrastructure, education,

culture and linguistic development of the hills including the ethnic identity of the Gorkhas. Ahead of the party’s youth wing’s public meeting in Kalimpong on Wednesday, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said Gurung is expected to make some announcements for the statehood demand. “Our youth wing is organising a mass public meeting at the Mela Ground in Kalimpong tomorrow and our party president will be present. He will announce the agitation programme during the event,” he said. It was Giri who said that Gurung had written to Mamata regarding the failure of the state government to implement the GTA agreement and Act in its letter and spirit. “Three years have passed but the council body continues to function in a de-capacitated manner. Departments have not been fully transferred, development funds not provided by the state government even as it is showering crores on the new development boards. The district administration continues to act as a parallel administration leading to duality, interference and deliberate encroachment on the GTA’s functioning,” alleged the GJM general secretary. He also said that this would be the last letter from the

GJM to the chief minister as all bipartite meetings on previous occasions have failed to yield the desired results. Of late, the GJM has been saying it will sit for talks only with the Centre henceforth as it believes the state government is incapable of giving anything.