The Center has called a meeting in Delhi on 7 October to discuss “Gorkhaland-related issues”, a letter from the Union Ministry of the Interior issued on Saturday to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, the Gorkhaland Autonomous Territorial Administration ( GTA) and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. (GJM) said.
The meeting was called by G Kishan Reddy, the Union Minister of State for Internal Affairs in the North Block office of the ministry. The state secretary of interior and the Darjeeling district magistrate were asked to attend. The letter was marked “More immediate.”
The development has angered the TMC government and the GJM’s Binoy Tamang faction, whose leaders have been put in charge of the GTA by the state.
Bimal Gurung, who founded the GJM and put a stop to a 100-day lockdown in the Darjeeling Hills in 2017 at the demand of a separate state, has been on the run since being indicted by the state under anti-terrorism laws.
In November 2017, Gurung’s former lieutenant, Binoy Tamang, suspended him and his aides in absentia.
“Every time we get closer to an election, the BJP government raises the Gorkhaland issue to create riots in the hills. This is yet another step, ”said Gautam Deb, TMC’s North Bengal tourism minister and legislator.
“The Center is making fun of the Gorkhas. He has called a meeting because the assembly elections will be held next year. The same was done before elections in the past. The fight for Gorkhaland went on for years. No government took any steps. This is just a political move, ”Anit Thapa, leader of the GJM faction Binoy Tamang and chairman of the GTA board of administrators, told local media.
Significantly, the letter from the Home Office was marked for the “President, GJM” and the address mentioned is that of Bimal Gurung’s Singamari office at North Point, Darjeeling.
In response to this, Thapa said: “According to a court order, both Gurung and Binoy Tamang are GJM presidents. How can you say that Gurung was invited?
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat three times since 2009 by forging an alliance with the GJM. In 2019, the BJP had an alliance with the GJM (Gurung faction), the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) and other small political parties in the hills.
Since 2009, the BJP has promised to find a permanent political solution to the long-pending demands of the people of the Darjeeling, Siliguri, Terai and Dooars region. The promises were also made in the BJP election manifestos in 2014 and 2019.
BJP Secretary General of State Sayantan Basu said: “The Center is aware of the problems and aspirations of the mountain people. All of these issues will be addressed. ”
Ajoy Edwards, chairman of the GNLF Darjeeling branch committee, said: “We welcome the Center’s move. The GNLF is also a partner in the BJP alliance but we have not been invited. Those attending the meeting should raise the issue of separate statehood. They can’t fool the hill people anymore. ”
In November 2017, the decision to dethrone the founder of the GJM was made at a meeting of the party’s central committee chaired by Tamang. However, only 37 of the 93 committee members attended the meeting. Gurung was removed from the post of president and Tamang took office.
The fugitive general secretary, Roshan Giri, was also stripped of his position and Tamang’s close associate, Anit Thapa, took office. Both Tamang and Thapa now have the support of the administration.
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