Morcha group backs Trinamul

VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, 28 Mar 2019, Darjeeling: Many of those arrested during the 2017 Gorkhaland agitation have formed the Gorkha Janmukti Jail Mukt Sangatan and have come up with the "we were on ground zero" narrative.

The association, which formed a 14-member ad-hoc committee, announced that it would be a frontal organisation of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Binay) and would support TMC-GJM (Binay) candidate, Amar Singh Rai. "We were the ones who were in ground zero when leaders fled from the hills. We faced all problems; our families went through difficult times. We have now decided to come together," said Srijana Tamang.

The association said that their primary aim was to address their problems collectively.

Amrit Pradhan, convener of the adhoc committee said : "The legal part of our cases is being taken care by Binay Tamang but even then we have to come to court regularly and we have to incur expenses in transportation. Most are unemployed and even those who want to go outside the hills for jobs cannot leave." The association said that they were 217 people who had been arrested and are out on bail right now.

"We want trial to start and our cases to finish. Since we have sacrificed so much, it is natural that we also expect our issues like unemployment to be solved," said Pradhan. "We should also be give preferences in jobs depending on our qualification." Ladup Ghisingh, said that those leaders who had fled or had first written to the state government for talks should not preach them. Ghisingh was pointing fingers to the GNLF and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Bimal) leaders.

"Those who fled leaving us in the lurch or were the ones to first write to the state government should not preach us. Our political enemy is the BJP, which did nothing for us when it was needed," alleged Ghisingh.