Hill parties iterate unity call

SNS, KALIMPONG, 19 FEBRUARY: In what may be called a follow-up to a seminar organized by the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxist (CPRM) in Darjeeling on 12 February, the Jan Andolan Party today organized a similar meeting here, where various political parties iterated the need to join hands to have democracy "restored" in the Hills.

However, a common agreement in to day's seminar here was, "Zero votes to the Centre and Zero votes to the state" in the Lok Sabha elections. 'The parties unanimously think that the representatives of the Centre and the state will do nothing after the elections are won," a party leader said.

The political parties and organizations have come under the banner of the 'All Party Unity for Protection of Demociatic Rights' (APUPDR),

while 16 such parties have joined the forum till date.

"The scenario in the Hills has become such that a single political party cannot do anything," JAP president Dr Harka Bahadur Chettri said.

"Elections used to be different earlier. A leader of a political party used to say something and we all used to follow. This time, the situation is different so I think we all need to adopt a policy of 'zero vote to the Centre, zero vote to the state' so that we can send our own representative to Parliament," he added.

Leaders like Dr Chettri and RB Rai of the CPRM spoke on how political parties did not lose hope and made way to break the stereo-type by displaying unity.

Analysts have said that collective leadership has always been a mnatter of question and concern for every body living in the Hills, especially at a time when elections happen.

As leaders have said that "outsiders- like Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia can never empathize with the demand for identity, the house today decided that dialogue on a common Lok Sabha election candidate should also start -We are trying to protect democracy and party affiliation is now secondary.

We need to explore politics; we all need to talk about our representative, and we have to search for the candidate together search the person who can raise our voice. We know there are different parties here, with different demands and policies, but the essence of all the party is separation. We all failed earlier because of communal politics," Dr Chettri said.

The APUPDR that was conceptualized in the Darjeeling meeting, but officially formed here today, also decided to serve a memorandum to the Darjeeling District Magistrate on 22 February, regarding "trailing democracy," while it said it will also try to get permission to hold an all-party public meeting in Darjeeling on 27 February.

"Democracy should give rights to politics and politics should give something to the people. We should have a strategy to achieve something because nothing happens with emotions," leader of the Gorkha National Liberation Front, NB Chettri, said.

Dilip Pradhan of the Congress party said that fundamental rights have been snatched away by the state government. "Everybody should demand democracy first. Only then can we demand anything against the government," he said.

A representative of the Bimal Gurung camp of the Morcha, Rohit Thapa said that everyone should cast aside their interests and talk about a common interest. "In the fight for a separate state, all our paths became different when it was supposed to be one. We should defeat the TMC in order to protect our identity. The political parties should support each other.. someone should speak for Birnal Gurung too," he said.