Dooars: Tribal leaders threatened to form a new wing of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad

Siliguri, Dec. 16: Tribal leaders in the Dooars and the Terai today threatened to form a new wing of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad if the state committee took action against John Barla.

The threat came a day before the state committee meets in Calcutta tomorrow to decide on the action to be taken against Barla, the former president of the Dooars Terai regional unit of the tribal outfit.

However, Parishad state leadership hinted that John was likely to escape with a warning as he wielded considerable influence among the adivasis in north Bengal.

“If the state committee takes any action against John Barla tomorrow, we will immediately announce the formation of the North Bengal Adivasi Vikas Parishad and seek the endorsement of the central committee,” said Raju Bara, a regional leader and a state committee member of the Parishad

He said the state committee had failed to read the minds of people in the Terai and the Dooars.

“People in the region are in favour of the tie-up with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and want autonomy for the region,” said Raju.

Barla, along with four other regional leaders, had entered into an agreement with the Morcha to bring the entire Terai and the Dooars under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration without the consent of the state leadership.

While Barla was suspended as the president of the regional unit, the four others were spared of any action. But the state committee had resolved to meet tomorrow to decide if further steps need to be taken against Barla.

The state committee is treading cautiously with a large number of adivasis in the plains rallying behind Barla.

“We are aware of the huge support Barla and other regional leaders enjoy in the Terai and the Dooars. We have second thoughts about punishing him. Most of the state committee members apprehend that if Barla is expelled from the Parishad, it will lead to the obliteration of the outfit from the Terai and the Dooars. We are most likely to issue just a warning to him,” said a state committee member, who didn’t want to be named.

Asked if Barla would be shown the door tomorrow, Parishad state president Birsa Tirkey said the priority of the organisation was to keep the unity intact and take care of the needs of the tribal people.

-The Telegraph