Bista rues K'pong MLA's Zilla Parishad proposal Darj MP says it could bea conspiracy to politically divide Gorkhas

REZA PRADHAN, SNS, DARJELING, 23 MARCH 2022: Darjeeling's BJP, MP Raju Bista today said that Kalimpong MLA Ruden Sada Lepcha' s proposal for a different administrative set-up for Kalimpong in the form of a Zilla Parishad could be a conspiracy to politically divide and marginalise Gorkhas.

This MP's statement follows Mr Lepcha's recent stance that the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) was equivalent to a Zilla Parishad and that Kalimpong should have one of its own under a three-tier panchayat system.

"I believe that Kalimpong and Darjeeling are like the body and soul, with Terai and Dooars region like the blood for the Gorkha community in India. These three parts are inseparable and should always remain so. Administratively, there has been a repeated attempt at rendering Gorkhas politically insignificant by the succeeding Bengal governments. In the 1970s, the Gorkha majority Malbazaar and Matelli region was amputated away from the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency, with Chopra in the Islampur region added onto our constituency. Chopra shares nothing in common with Darjeeling hills. Terai and Dooars, yet it is part of the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency only because it helps balance votes in favour of Kolkata-based parties," said Mr Bista.

"Similarly, I fear if Kalimpong is kept away from the purview of GTA, sooner or later Kalimpong will be either merged with Jalpaiguri or Alipurduar Lok Sabha constituency or a new constituency formed and Kalimpong be made a part of it post the proposed 2026 delimitation of constituencies. If this happens, the Gorkhas will be rendered politically insignificant in both Darjeeling and Kalimpong," said the Darjeeling MP further alleging that post-2013 agitations, various caste-specific boards were formed by the state government "with the aim of dividing Gorkhas."

Maintaining that the Bengal government found ways to divide the Gorkhas, he said, "While I am supportive of conducting elections to three-tier Panchayat in both Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, I am opposed to any conspiracy and attempts at politically dividing and marginalising the Gorkhas any further. We should all remain united and oppose any such attempts at dividing our people for the political benefits of a few. "The MP who, is also the BJP national spokesperson, further said that Mr Lepcha seemed to be confused as his party was a "firm supporter of the illegal GTA set-up."

"His party also speaks about PPS (permanent political solution) and also the state of Gorkhaland whenever elections are nearby, and now they knowingly or unknowingly participating in a conspiracy to separate Kalimpong from the existing administrative set-up and politically marginalise the Gorkhas," he said.