Morcha cites CM pledge to back `Third Front'

AVIJIT SINHA, TT, 25 Jan 2019,Siliguri: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has cited Mamata Banerjee's "assurances" to look into the Gorkhas' identity issue to seek the community's support for the "Third Front" in the Lok Sabha polls and urged people to give the BJP a "befitting reply" for its "fake promises".

The call comes at a time Mamata, spearheading efforts to cobble the Opposition alliance, is on a tour of north Bengal and the hills and ahead of a rally Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to address in Siliguri next month.

The Gorkhas are a factor in three parliamentary seats of the region: Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar. The BJP won the Darjeeling seat in 2019 and 2014 with the Morcha's support. Trinamul holds the Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar seats.

"The GJM welcomes the statement by Mamata Banerjee regarding her assurances about taking up the issue of the identity of the Gorkhas forward… she will look into safety and security of the Gorkhas living across India," Morcha general secretary Anit Thapa said in a release on Thursday.

"With this statement, the time has come to think about promises delivered by Mamata Banerjee and fake promises made by the BJP. The people in the hills, Terai and Dooars must openly support the Third Front alliance in the Centre and remove the party which has given nothing to the Gorkhas other than fake promises (sic)," Thapa said.

Speaking in Darjeeling on Wednesday on the identity of the Gorkhas, Mamata had stressed the need for "a permanent solution". "I want to assure the Gorkha brothers and sisters, to safeguard your identity, to strength the hills, for the wellbeing of the hills, we will do whatever needs to be done for the development of Darjeeling." In the hills, politics is largely focused on identity and those who support Gorkhaland believe the issue can be resolved only through the creation of a separate state.

An immediate context for the Morcha appeal is Modi's upcoming Siliguri rally. The Binay Tamang-led Morcha Narendra Modi has stressed that the "time has come to embrace a new government" at the Centre that "understands the identity issue of the Gorkhas".

"The Modi rally will be an acid test for both sides. The BJP and the (Morcha's) Bimal Gurung lobby will have to show their support by bringing Gorkhas to the meeting. Their absence at the rally will make it evident they are not with the BJP and Gurung. This is another reason they (Tamang and his colleagues) have raised the issue of identity and Mamata Banerjee's as- surance," said an observer. In his release, Morcha gen- eral secretary Thapa was also critical of Gurung, the former Morcha chief on the run since cases were filed against him over violence in the 2017 statehood agitation. "People were misguided by a visionless leader who knew nothing other than inciting violence for their own selfish motive to remain in power and to blackmail the state government," Thapa said.

CM meets Tamang 

Mamata met Tamang, the head of the Gorkhaland Territorial Adminstration (GTA), at the hill body's office in Darjeeling's Lal Kothi on Thursday.

"She asked the GTA representatives to send a project report for the renovation of Lal Kothi and some other buildings. Some other issues, like land rights for hill tea workers, and schoolteachers' appointment were also discussed," said a source. Mamata later arrived in Siliguri. She is scheduled to leave for Calcutta on Friday.

Additional inputs by Vivek Chhetri in Darjeeling.