Gorkhaland demand takes back seat, GJM seeks permanent solution for Hills within ambit of Bengal

Darjeeling/Kolkata, Mar 28 (PTI) The GJM on Monday pitched for a permanent political solution for the Hills within the ambit of West Bengal, virtually putting its long-pending demand of separate state on the back burner.

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said the party presently wanted a permanent political solution to ensure the development of people of the Hills. “Right now we want a permanent political solution within Bengal,” Giri told PTI, in a nuanced shift in stance. During the day, a GJM delegation, along with members of Hamro Party, held a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on a scheduled five-day visit to North Bengal.

Asked about the demand for statehood, Giri, later in the day, said he declined to give a direct reply. The move by the GJM, which had always had Gorkhaland as the major poll plank since formation in 2007, comes at a time when some of the BJP MLAs from the hills are also seeking a separate state of North Bengal. The TMC, however, hailed the GJM move. “We welcome the GJM’s stand on the matter. The hills, for several decades, have witnessed a lot of bloodshed. Under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, we are sure there will be an era of development in the region,” TMC chief spokesperson Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said.

BJP MLA from Kurseong, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, who had recently sought a separate state of Darjeeling, claimed that the GJM could no longer be trusted. “They (GJM) have compromised with the cause and the sacrifice made by people for the cause. They have lost public support. We want a separate state… it is the dream of local residents,” Sharma said. The saffron party’s national vice-president, Dilip Ghosh, alleged that the GJM lacked credibility as it did not dither to “change stance frequently to suit political interests”.

According to sources, the change in stance came amid the rise of the newly formed Hamro Party in the civic elections earlier this month which grabbed the Darjeeling Municipality, leaving behind traditional heavyweight hill outfits like the GJM. Darjeeling, a picturesque hill town, is majorly dominated by ethnic Gorkhas. Other communities that reside there include Lepchas, Sherpas and Bhutias.

The demand for a separate state was first made in the 1980s, with the Subhas Ghisingh-led GNLF launching a violent agitation in 1986, which went on for 43 days and led to the death of around 1,200 people in the hills. The demand gained momentum again in 2007 after the formation of the GJM, under the leadership of Bimal Gurung, who was once a trusted aide of Ghisingh.

In 2011, after the TMC took over the reins of Bengal, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) was formed with Gurung as its chief. But peace was short-lived in the area as Gurung led an agitation over the statehood demand, first in 2013 and then in 2017, accusing the TMC government of trying to “wipe out” the Gorkha identity.

The strike also led to a split in the GJM, with Binay Tamang, his deputy, taking over the reins. Gurung and his loyalists were expelled from the party. In October 2020, Gurung, who had aligned with the BJP, pledged his support for the TMC ahead of the assembly polls. Tamang joined the TMC in December last year.

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