Zimba demands Gorkhaland in West Bengal Assembly: BJP backs TMC resolution against division of Bengal

BJP MLA, B.P. Bajgain staged a walkout

EOI, DARJEELING, AUGUST 5, 2024 : To express their angst over the BJP sitting on the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state, the Gorkha National Liberation Front on Monday started a black flag campaign in the hills against its alliance partner. 

On the occasion of Martyrs’ Day on July 27, GNLF president Mann Ghising urged people and different political parties of the hills to put up black flags to send the message that they were not happy with the BJP. 

"The BJP government in Delhi has failed to give us justice in all these years. We have supported the BJP wholeheartedly but have not got anything in return. Therefore, to show our angst and annoyance towards the BJP, we have started the black flag campaign. Our party president gave the clarion call on Sahid Diwas," GNLF Darjeeling branch president, M.G. Subba said. 

The GNLF put up black flags at their central party office and in different areas of the towns of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, and Mirik. "We will continue with our programme of putting up black flags in the coming days, even along different road stretches of the hills also. Twenty years have passed, but the Centre has not given us justice and we are trying to pressurise the Centre to grant the issues of the Gorkhas," Subba said.

Speaking on a motion in the West Bengal assembly during the day, GNLF secretary general, Niraj Zimba, BJP MLA from Darjeeling, said that the division of Bengal was not within the jurisdiction of the State Legislature but fell within the purview of the Centre. In his address in the Assembly, he said, "Today, I speak not as a member bound by any political affiliations or ideologies but as a true representative of the Indian Gorkha community residing all over India, especially in the Darjeeling hills, Kalimpong, Terai, and Dooars region. Our community has long been denied political and constitutional justice within the framework of the Indian Constitution."

"Unless Article 3 is amended or repealed, such a motion lacks substantive meaning and could be considered a virus to the essence of our Constitution. We are caught in a situation where we either need to scrap Article 3 or acknowledge that such motions are beyond our legislative capacity," said Zimba. In his speech, he maintained that he was aware that the majority of his colleagues, even within his own party fold, did not support the division or bifurcation of West Bengal. "But this debate is not merely about division or separation; it is about addressing a historical injustice. The Darjeeling hills and surrounding areas were merged with West Bengal in 1947 and this merger was neither constitutional nor just as it failed to consider the distinct identity and aspirations of the Gorkha community," Zimba said.

The Darjeeling MLA asserted that words like "Separation," "Division," "Disintegration," and "Bifurcation" would have negative connotations and impact in existing political literature and discourse. Zimba urged the state assembly to view the Gorkha Homeland Movement as an opportunity to rectify this historical blunder. "A separate state could address the long-standing issues of mis-governance, exploitation, and historical oversight in the Darjeeling hills and neighboring areas. The demerger of Darjeeling hills from Bengal will not lead to violence or ethnic conflict. Just as Telangana and Andhra Pradesh coexist peacefully today, so too can West Bengal and Gorkhaland," he said, adding it was time for both the Centre and the State Government to deliver justice to the Indian Gorkhas.

Meanwhile, rebel Kurseong BJP MLA, B.P. Bajgain staged a walkout from the state Assembly and voiced his dissent over his party refusing him to speak on the Gorkhaland demand during the motion brought by the Trinamool Congress against the division of Bengal state. "It is surprising that the Trinamool and the BJP unite when it comes to the statehood demand of the hill people. I had requested my party leadership to include my name in the list of speakers, but was refused. I, therefore, staged a walkout from the Assembly," Bajgain said.