GTA case: GNLF for 'neutral' court

SNS, DARJEELING, 9 DECEMBER: The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) has said that it is looking into the legal possibilities of transferring their court case of 2012, which challenges the validity of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), from the Calcutta High Court to any other court in a neutral state.

"Around June last year, Binoy Tamang had filed a petition of the GTA vs state government and in that case we had tiled an intravenous petition, maintaining that there was already a case filed by our leader Subash Ghisingh in the year 2012. We had filed the case as we did not want our old case to be hampered it the Supreme court gave any directions," GNLF leader Neeraj Zimba said after the first meeting of the party's steering committee here yesterday.

"Hearing our petition, the Supreme Court had said that there was a point in our old case with it also maintaining that the GTA vs state government case was secondary. It had said that the primary thing was it the GTA was valid and constitutional or not The Supreme Court had then directed the High Court to hold a hearing on our old case as soon as possible, but till now, no such thing has happened.

We are now looking for options to transfer the case to a neutral state like Delhi or Guwahati as there is such a provision," he added,

According to him their leader Mann Ghisingh recently went to Delhi to meet senior lawyers and to see if there were any legal possibilities for this.

Speaking about the meeting today,N. Zimba said that on 22 June this year, the different GNLF committees had been dissolved and a steering committee formed recently.

"Nothing conclusive took place today, but things like how to organise the party, was discussed, for which a central convenor will be chosen,

who will form branch committees and other frontal organisations. It was also decided that since Mirik is a sub-division now, it will have a branch committee."

Asked about the Lok Sabha elections, he said, "We are of the opinion that the candidate should not be son of the soil as he will be in a minority there. We will take a decision when the time comes. They say that the BJP betrayed the Gorkhas, but that is not the case as it was due to the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha leadership not knowing what to do, the BJP betrayed us. There should have been some one who knew how to demand and take our voices to Delhi."