ABGL leaves agitation forum

The branch of a bank that opened in Kurseong on Monday

TT, Calcutta, Sept. 11: The ABGL today announced its decision to quit the Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee, terming the forum formed purportedly to give a collective leadership to the ongoing statehood agitation a "spineless" entity.

The ABGL is the first constituent to walk out of the common forum that comprised 14 political and apolitical organisations based in the hills.

"We have decided to quit the GMCC. It has become a spineless body which was forced to work under the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. The ongoing agitation also fizzled out because of the tussle between Bimal Gurung and Binay Tamang within the Morcha," said Pratap Khati, the general secretary of the ABGL.

The GMCC has been repeatedly criticised for its failure to announce independent programmes. Even though the committee was projected as a body to lead the present agitation, it has done little, with the Morcha announcing agitation programmes individually.

Following the Morcha's unilateral decisions, other constituents of the GMCC like the GNLF and the Jana Andolan Party also organised their own programmes.

Observers believe even though the ABGL does not command mass support in the hills, the decision of the oldest Darjeeling party is bound to have an impact on the politics of the region.

"The united face of the movement has taken a hit with the departure of the ABGL. It is bound to have an impact on the ongoing agitation even though the ABGL does not command mass support. In any case, given the way the GMCC has been functioning, it is only a matter of time before it disintegrates completely," said a hill leader.

While the ABGL has formally announced quitting the GMCC, the JAP, headed by Harka Bahadur Chhetri, also expressed disappointment over the functioning of the forum. No representative was sent from the JAP to at least two meetings of the GMCC.

The ABGL leader said although the party had received a verbal invitation to attend the talks in Siliguri, it would stay away.

"We will not be attending the talks as the state government has already said the Gorkhaland demand won't be discussed. Moreover, the invitation has so far been only verbal and we are not very sure of the agenda of the meeting," Khati said.

During the last bipartite talks held at Nabanna on August 29, the ABGL and CPRM were not invited for the talks.

The CPRM, too, has announced that it won't attend the talks.

Asked about the ongoing indefinite strike, which entered Day 89 today, Khati said: "The present agitation has become fruitless even after nearly 90 days of shutdown. We do not want to say whether the strike should be lifted or not, but we are definitely concerned about students, especially those appearing for board examinations, who have lost so much."