Gorkha body to request Shah for CAA waiver

TT, 23 December 2019, Siliguri: The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh, an apolitical organisation of Gorkhas across the country, has decided to write to Union home minister Amit Shah seeking exemption for the Darjeeling hills, Terai and the Dooars from the purview of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The BGP held an indoor meeting here on Sunday to discuss the current political situation in India.

"The decision of the central government to implement the CAA is a narrow one. If implemented, it will have a negative impact on the historical and cultural background of the region and will also inconvenience the residents. That is why we will send a letter to Amit Shah and urge him to keep Darjeeling and its adjoining areas out of the purview of the Act," said Sukhman Moktan, the national president of the BGP "India can achieve development only if there is socioeconomic uplift of the marginalised and backward communities," Moktan added.

Tamang meet Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Binay Tamang addressed workers at Banarhat in Jalpaiguri on Sunday to discuss the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens.

He said the Morcha faction led by him would organise rallies in the Dooars and the Terai also to protest the CAA.

Additional reporting by our Jalpaiguri Correspondent.