Gurung threatens statehood movement

Gurung in Siliguri on Saturday. (Kundan Yolmo)

TT, Siliguri, Sept. 26: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung today said chief minister Mamata Banerjee was "forcing" the hill party to resume its statehood movement.

"She has resorted to dictatorship and a divide-and-rule policy among the Gorkha population in the hills and the plains. Ever since the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) was formed, Mamata Banerjee has been interfering even in small issues. We perceive that by such acts, she is forcing us to resume our movement for Gorkhaland," Gurung told journalists on the sidelines of a public meeting in Matigara, Siliguri.

The Morcha chief had come to Siliguri to attend a rally with S.S. Ahluwalia, the BJP MP of Darjeeling. The rally was held to campaign for the October 3 polls to the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad.

"In the GTA agreement, which was signed on July 18, 2011, and the GTA Act, our demand for Gorkhaland is mentioned clearly. The state government is a party to the agreement and the chief minister had never objected to it. So we feel there will not be any problem if we resume our statehood movement in a democratic and peaceful manner," Gurung, who is also the GTA chief, said.

"Three years have passed since the GTA was formed. The manner in which the state government is interfering in the affairs of the GTA cannot continue any longer. Our party will soon chalk out a strategy to resume the Gorkhaland movement," he added.