Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy on Wednesday met representatives of the Bimal Guru faction of the Gurkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) at North Block. The group demanded the creation of a State of Gorkhaland comprising Darjeeling and the adjoining hill districts in West Bengal.
The Home Ministry had convened the meeting to discuss “issues related to the [GTA] Gorkhaland Territorial Administration”. The GTA is a regional autonomous body formed as a result of tripartite agreement between the State, the Centre and the GJM in 2011.
Another faction of the GJM is led by Benoy Tamang. Currently, it wields control of the GTA and has the backing of the ruling Trinamool Congress. Mr. Gurung is wanted by the West Bengal police under anti-terror law UAPA (Unlawful Activities [Prevention] Act) following the 100-day unrest in the region in 2017.
No State representation
No representative of the West Bengal government attended the Wednesday meeting.
GJM working president Lopsang Lama, who attended the meeting, said they did not discuss the GTA, but submitted a memorandum demanding the creation of ‘Gorkhaland’.
“We did not discuss anything about the GTA. It has failed and we informed the Home Ministry about it. We want a permanent solution and demand the creation of ‘Gorkhaland’ as promised by the BJP in its election manifesto,” Mr. Lama, former vice-president of the GTA, said after the meeting.
Another GJM leader, Kalyan Dewan, said the Union Minister gave them a patient hearing and assured them that the dialogue on their demands would continue.
Later, in a statement, Mr. Lama said the seven-member delegation raised the ‘Gorkhaland’ demand and grant of Scheduled Tribe status to 11 Gorkha sub-communities.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and other senior officials attended the meeting.
The statement said, “When the GTA issue was raised, the GJM delegation submitted that the delegation was there to discuss the statehood demand and grant of Scheduled Tribe status and not the GTA since the Memorandum of Agreement signed between the Union of India, the government of West Bengal and the GJM in 2011 was not honoured by the State of West Bengal”.
‘Obstacles by State govt’
The memorandum submitted by the GJM delegation mentioned about the alleged “irregularities, interferences and obstacles committed by the State government, thereby rendering the GTA defunct”.
The GJM said that moreover, all the elected members of the GTA had resigned en masse in 2017, rejecting the said body.
The delegation further submitted on the issue of Gorkhaland being the oldest statehood demand in the country and presented various materials supporting it, the statement said.
“The hon’ble minister, after giving a patient audience, assured the delegation that the government would consider all the materials presented before it and announce the next meeting after speaking with the Hon’ble Union Home Minister Amit Shah and briefing him about the contents of today’s meeting”, it added.
