Jan Aandolan Party is state govt’s tool to suppress Gorkhaland demand: GJM

EOI, Darjeeling, 15 Feb 2016: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has alleged that the newly-formed Jan Aandolan Party of Harka Bahadur Chhetri was a tool of the Bengal government to curb the statehood demand.

Taking exception to JAP chairman Mahendra P Lama’s announcement that the word Gorkha or Gorkhaland did not figure in the party’s manifesto, GJM assistant secretary Benoy Tamang today issued a press statement saying, “This makes it is clear that JAP is neither for the hill people nor the demand for Gorkhaland. That is why the words Gorkha and Gorkhaland do not figure in their manifesto and party name.” Tamang accused JAP of conspiring with the state government to curtail the popular demand for statehood. “They (JAP) say they don’t want to inconvenience people by using the terms Gorkha or Gorkhaland. This is false as they are hand-in-glove with the state government to ensure the voice of Gorkhaland is suppressed,” said the GJM assistant secretary. He pointed out that to the hill people, the term ‘Gorkha’ was political and one linked to social identity, and therefore, bore significant emotional attachment.

“We are termed outsides in our own state and country. It is because of this discrimination that for our political and social identity, a separate Gorkha state is a must,” reasoned Tamang. He said the word Gorkhaland was legitimate and had the ascent of the country’s President. “When the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration agreement was passed in Parliament, it received the President’s consent. Now it is legitimate and accepted,” he said. Tamang also took potshots at chief minister Mamata Banerjee for trying to divide the hill people by using the JAP as a weapon. “The chief minister is not only against Gorkhaland but also the word Gorkha. She is dividing the people by indulging in vote politics,” he alleged, adding the JAP’s decision to contest the upcoming assembly election was on the directives of the state government. 

“The incumbent government and the party it belongs to know they cannot win the polls in the hills. That is why they are promoting the JAP and has asked it to contest in order to divide the votes of the Gorkhaland loving people,” he said. On the statehood demand, Tamang said it would become a reality as Bengal did not have the power to give it. “The state government cannot do anything about Gorkhaland as everything rests in the hands of the central government. The Centre is with the GJM at the moment and we will definitely achieve a separate state by any means,” he asserted.