GNLF has road map ready to take forward statehood demand, says Niraj Zimba

EOI, DARJEELING, AUGUST 23, 2024: "Justice delayed is justice denied. If the BJP-led Centre cannot give us justice, then what is the use of citizenship? We should renounce it," Gorkha National Liberation Front general secretary and BJP MLA from Darjeeling, Niraj Zimba, said on Friday on the occasion of Gorkha Nagrikta Diwas organized by the party. The GNLF marks August 23 as Citizenship Day as on August 22, 1988, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council was formed, following the bloody agitation of 1986 and 1987 and the signing of the DGHC accord in 1988.

"The Gorkhas are nationalistic and patriotic. We sacrifice our lives to safeguard the country. Yet, we have been denied justice. We strongly feel that we are being betrayed," Zimba said. The GNLF is in alliance with the BJP. The hills have been voting for the BJP since 2009 to help elect a Member of Parliament. In the 2024 parliamentary election, the BJP did not mention the demand of the Gorkha community in its election manifesto. In previous elections, the saffron party had promised to find a permanent political solution for the hills and grant tribal status to the eleven left-out Gorkha communities.

The growing public resentment may lead to a backlash in the assembly election in West Bengal due in 2026. On Martyrs’ Day on July 26, GNLF president Mann Ghising launched a ‘black flag campaign’ against the BJP-led Centre. "The black flag is not to fight with the Centre but to show our displeasure. We cannot resort to violent agitation. Therefore, the black flag campaign is a democratic form of protest for our political right," Zimba said.

"The Centre is aware and does not want a repeat of the 1986 type of agitation which could threaten national security. There must be some reason for the delay in giving us justice,” Zimba said. The GNLF general secretary said time had come for the Centre and the BJP to deliver on its promises. "Our demand for a Gorkhaland state is within the framework of the Constitution. If the Constitution can be amended for the Nagas, Mizos, Ladakhis, and Kashmiris, then why can it not be amended for the Gorkhas?" He thought this was step-motherly treatment of the Gorka people. The GNLF leader reiterated the April 2025 ultimatum set by the GNLF and said a roadmap had already been prepared to take forward the statehood demand.