Darjeeling, Feb. 5: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung today requested all hill communities to
“remain united keeping in mind the larger picture” but said nothing on
the party’s strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Gurung was
expected to spell out the Morcha’s plans for the general election at a
meeting in Jamuni today. But when he started his speech around 3pm, the
Morcha president made it clear he would say nothing on the matter now.
“Today, I will not
speak about the Lok Sabha election or our party candidate. We will take
a decision on the issue at an opportune moment. We will not adopt a
strategy according to what the government of India or the state
government wants,” Gurung said.
Representatives of different hill communities were invited to the Morcha meeting in Jamuni, 20km from here.
Morcha leaders,
who spoke before Gurung, also indicated that they were waiting for
direction on the general elections from the party leadership.
Diwarkar Gurung,
organising secretary of the Morcha and the leader who conducted today’s
meeting, said: “Senior leaders of our party are here and they might talk
about the party’s Lok Sabha election plans.”
Many Morcha speakers, including Gurung, stressed the need for the hill people and the Gorkhas to be united.
“I am increasingly
feeling that various Gorkha sub-communities are forgetting about Gorkha
unity. I feel the situation is emerging in a way that in the days to
come, a Gurung will not go to a Rai family house where there has been a
death. Probably, a Chhetri will not be there for the Tamang people
during crisis and vice-versa. We Gorkhas are a community which takes
great pride in our recognition as a brave community but we are slowly
getting scattered,” Gurung said.
“Please remain
united, keeping in mind the larger picture. I have no problems with the
government forming boards for different communities,” Gurung said.
“In fact, when
Mamata Banerjee was in Darjeeling, I had requested her to form
development boards for all hill communities. I have also requested her
to initiate a process so that 10 Gorkha communities are enlisted in the
Schedule Tribe list. After forming so many boards, I think the state
government can also dissolve the GTA,” the Morcha chief said.
A representative
of a hill community present at the meeting today said: “We are not
trying to break Gorkha unity as it will always remain. We are only
trying to demand some facilities to preserve and protect our culture,
especially, when the government has made such a provision.”
Sources said
Gurung’s speech on Gorkha unity stems from the growing demand of all
Gorkha sub-communities to enlist themselves as Schedule Tribes.
Today, the Morcha
chief also spoke about the need to develop the hills and said he would
go all out to do so in his remaining three-and-half-year tenure at the
GTA.
“We have enough
funds to develop the hills. I have sanctioned Rs 27 crore for developing
Mirik Lake and other tourist spots there. A team will visit
Dudhia-Sukna area to inspect land where we can set up a super-speciality
hospital,” Gurung said.(The Telegraph)