GJM women's wing to launch agitation in Delhi to press for Gorkhaland

PTI, Kolkata, Aug 1, 2023 : The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Tuesday announced it will launch a three-day agitation in New Delhi from August 4 to press for their long-pending demand of a separate state of Gorkhaland, accusing the BJP of betraying the aspirations of the people of Darjeeling hills despite electing the saffron party from the parliamentary seat since 2009.

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told PTI that the party’s women wing (Mahila Morcha) will lead the agitation in the national capital to make those in power at the Centre aware of the failed promises.

“Gorkhaland is an aspiration of the people of the hills. Despite the people of the hills and GJM supporting the BJP since 2009 and helping the saffron camp win the parliamentary seat, the BJP has done nothing,” he said.

Giri claimed that despite the BJP leadership’s promises to look into the issue, nothing had moved forward regarding their demand for a separate state in the last 15 years.

“Whenever election arrives, the BJP makes the false promise of a permanent political solution. But in reality, it does nothing. So it has been decided that from August 4-6, the Mahila Morcha will organise a demonstration in Delhi,” he said.

Reacting to GJM’s announcement, West Bengal BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the party has not gone back on any of its poll promises and believes in the development of all.

“BJP believes in the development of all. Regarding the issue of Darjeeling hills, we have maintained the stand that all the pending issues must be addressed. GJM is looking for an issue as it is fighting for its existence in the hills,” he said.

The BJP, which has been winning the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat with the help of its former ally GJM since 2009, has always maintained that it supports a “permanent political solution” to all the demands and problems of the hills.

In October 2020, the GJM left the BJP-led NDA to join hands with the TMC. However, in 2022, it decided to go alone in the hills.

Senior TMC leader Sougata Roy accused the BJP of fanning divisive forces and said Bengal’s ruling party is against any form of division of the state.

Darjeeling, often called the queen of the hills, has witnessed several agitations over the years, with political parties promising the people a separate Gorkhaland state and implementation of the Sixth Schedule, which grants autonomy to a tribal-inhabited region.

Traditional hill parties like the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the Gorkha National Liberation Front, besides the BJP, boycotted the semi-autonomous council elections last year.

Although the demand for separation of the region from West Bengal is over a century old, the Gorkhaland statehood movement was ignited by GNLF leader Subhash Ghisingh in 1986.

The violent stir claimed hundreds of lives and culminated in 1988 with the signing of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, which governed the region with a certain degree of autonomy till 2011, following which GTA took over in 2012 after the fresh stir by Gurung. More violent bouts were witnessed during the 104-day-long strike in the Darjeeling hills in 2017.