Another Darjeeling Ex Councillor rejoins Tamang Camp

SNS, 19 July 2019, Darjeeling: The councillor of Ward-9 under the Darjeeling Municipality, Anup Hang Subba, today joined the Binoy Tamang camp of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha. Mr Subba is the second councilor after Ganesh Sarki of Ward-18 to join the Tamang camp from the BJP. Mr Subba said the BJP was not serious about the demand for Gorkhaland.

"I was here for some personal reasons as my mother is sick I am rejoining the Morcha on my own volition. I gave whatever I could, but had reached saturation point, so I returned. The BJP only fooled us as we thought they would do something for the people here, but after going to Delhi we found out that they do not care about Darjeeling. Even if they did some development work, they are not serious on our main issue of Gorkhaland," Mr Subba said.

Morcha (Tamang camp) leader Alok Kanta Mani Thulung said that they welcome him back as he had joined the earlier BJP thinking that the party at the Centre would grant Gorkhaland. "More will realise this and come back," he said.

After they submitted a letter to the Municipality chairperson Pratibha Rai on 29 May seeking a no- confidence motion against the civic board, 17 councillors had gone to Delhi, where they joined the BJP. While no meeting was called to have a floor test, the state government dissolved the board and appointed the Additional District Magistrate (General). Mayuri Vasu, as the administrator of the board on 19 June.

On the other hand, the chairman of the Board of Administrators for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Chairman. Anit Thapa, wrote to chief minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday, asking her to take up the matter of frequent assault on people from Darjeeling hills in Delhi with the Union Home Minister, so that they take immediate steps to provide safety and security to all Gorkhas from the GTA region in the national capital.

According to Mr Thapa, Pranay Pradhan, a 27-year-old resident of Pokhribong, Darjeeling, was assaulted by three men in South Delhi's Kotla Mubarakpur. He worked there as a chef in a restaurant and was hit on the head with a wooden plank and is in a critical condition. The men is said to have acted after Mr Pradhan objected to some offensive comments the three local men passed. "In this incident, a woman from Darjeeling, Leena Subba, was also allegedly assaulted," a press statement issued by Mr Thapa has said.

"Our youths are working in Delhi and other metropolitan cities across the country, but incidents such as these are unwarranted. Our youths are afraid as they do not know what will happen to them." said Mr Thapa.

The Kotla Mubarakpur police station has reportedly started a case under section 307 and 341, with the police having arrested two miscreants, while searching for the remaining.