Agitation played spoilsport, says Harka

MANAS R BANNERJEE, SNS, SILIGURI 14 AUGUST: Jan Andolan Party (JAP) president Dr Harka Bahadur Chettri said that the present spell of the Gorkhaland agitation, which was transformed into a people's movement, has failed to register itself as a constitutional movement because of violence in the Hills in the last two months.

Dr Chettri came down heavily on the present leadership of the Gorkhaland movement, following what some termed as an 'upsetting outcome' of the Hill leaders' meeting with union home minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi last evening.

"This movement has failed to register itself as a movement for a Constitutional demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland because of violence. Both the central and the state governments easily reduced it to a law and order problem and ignored the identity issue, a genuine demand, despite repeated reminders." Dr Chettri said over telephone.

"As leaders of the movement, can we shrug off the responsibility when violence erupted in the Hills frequently? But the main leadership of the Gorkhaland movement has denied the charges, after it failed to control criminals involved in the violence.'

Both the centre and the state took opportunity to dilute the movement, terming it a law and order problem, he said.

A former MLA from Kalinipong and former spokesman for the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM), Dr Chettri also said that no one informed him of the meeting with the home minister. 

"Virtually, the GJMM boycotted me and did not inform me about the meeting on time. The GJMM thought that it would get positive response from the union government and party would take all the credit. This has proven that the GJMM's reading of national politics was wrong," he said.

"I had been shouting for a non-violence movement since the beginning of the agitation. The condition for JAP joining the GMCC was non-violence," he added.

"The present movement does not have the collective leadership,which can argue with both the centre and the state governments," he said.