GNLF black flag against BJP for silence on Gorkhaland

EOI, DARJEELING, JULY 29, 2024 :  Fissures are beginning to show, with the Gorkha National Liberation Front venting their frustration with their alliance partner BJP, which has not yet committed to the demand for a Gorkhaland state. On Monday, GNLF president Mann Ghising hoisted a black flag in the central party office in Darjeeling in protest against the BJP-led Centre remaining indifferent to the sentiments of the Gorkha community.

GNLF spokesperson, Y Lama, said the exercise was to send a message to the BJP that the Gorkha community was not happy. "It’s a symbolic protest. We want to tell the BJP that we are not happy. We are a proud community and being betrayed, we are angered," he said.

The GNLF leader said the BJP had failed to give justice to the Gorkhas even after 20 years. "We voted for the BJP; from Jaswant Singh to Raju Bista. But we have been denied justice. We have been kept in the lurch by the BJP," Lama said. Jaswant Singh won the Darjeeling seat for the BJP in 2009, followed by SS Ahluwalia in 2014, and Raju Bista in 2019 and 2024. Lama appealed to people to show solidarity and put up black flags in their houses in protest against the BJP taking no step to assure Gorkhaland. "Let us leave aside political differences. Let us unite and send the BJP a message that we are not happy with them," he said.

On the occasion of Martyrs’ Day on Saturday, the GNLF president issued an ultimatum to the BJP to make an announcement on the statehood demand. "The BJP must make an announcement by April 5, 2025, on the Gorkha issue. The BJP must fulfill its promise made during elections," Ghising had said.

Ahead of the 2024 parliamentary election, GNLF leaders had harped on the BJP making a pro-Gorkha announcement, but the saffron party did not include the hill issue in their election manifesto.