`Hills have lost bargaining chip'

Photo: Facebook -CPRM

SNS, DARJEELING, 12 February 2019: As different political parties from the Hills and the plains gathered here tor a seminar and stressed on the need tor unity to have "democracy restored" in the Hills, the Jan Andolan Party today told the event that the Hills had lost the" bargaining chip" they had during the tenure of Morcha leader Bimal Gurung and GNLF leader Subhash Ghisingh.

The seminar was organised by the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxist (CPRM) for what it called 'restoration of democracy, even as party leaders stressed on the need for unity among each other despite the fact that they had different ideologies.

The representatives of the 13 different political outfits were of the opinion that the seminar could be the first step towards achieving such unity.

Addressing the gathering at the Gorkha Dukha Niwarak Sammelan hall here, CPI-M Darjeeling District Secretary Jibesh Sarkar said, "Different parties present here have different issues, but the pertinent factor common to all in the Hills and the plains is that democracy is at peril. Whatever issues each of the political party might have, we should all be united and work for the restoration of democracy. Success in anything is possible when there is democracy"

Mr Sarkar also spoke on the need for elections to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, the identity issue of the Hills to be addressed by linguistic minority status, for which they are willing to start an all-India programme, and a long-term solution for the hills in the highest form of autonomy.

Speaking on the same lines, the secretary of the Darjeeling district CPI (ML) Liberation, Abhijeet Majumdar, maintained that the need of the hour was unity among the hills and the plains.

On the other hand, Jan Anodlan Party leader Harka Bahadur Chettri said, 'We might be having different ideologies, but we are all facing the same problem. We should stay united and work together from the plains and the Hills. We should hold more such programme in the hills and the plains. The JAP will hold a similar programme in Kalimpong on February 20 or 21,"

Mr Chettri said that a vacuum has been created in the -Hills with the "bargaining chip' that the Hills had during the time of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung and the Gorkha National Liberation Front leader Subash Ghisingh had been lost.

"It is time to send across a message to both the state and the Centre that the Hills were united," Dr Chettri said.

Pravin Zimba, a senior leader of the GNLF, attributed the current situation of the Hills to the local administration not having constitutional guarantee. He further said that implementation of the Sixth Schedule would solve the problems.

Except for the Binoy Tamang camp of the Morcha, the TMC and the BJP, other political parties and leaders, including RP Waiba, the Vice-president of the Gurung faction of the Morcha, the CPIM, Congress and the All India Gorkha League were also present in the programme.