Kamtapur Progressive Party resents focus on Darjeeling

Siliguri, Oct. 31: North Bengal outfits seeking statehood but lying dormant over the past few years today criticised the chief minister for “prioritising the hills” and warned of agitation.

“We have been fighting for our demands for decades but the state is consistently prioritising the hills. The state will have to look after the Rajbanshis as well and not simply take care of the people of the hills,” said Atul Roy, the president of the Kamtapur Progressive Party that had been demanding a Kamtapur state and development of the region.

Referring to the Adivasi Vikas Parishad’s decision to accept the inclusion of the Dooars-Terai region in the set-up for the hills, Roy said: “Many people are opposed to the Parishad’s move. The government has created a rift between the people of the region.”

“We will hold a meeting with like-minded organisations at Shivmandir (on the outskirts of Siliguri) on November 9 and plan a movement that will include blockades of roads and rail tracks, demonstrations and strikes,” he added.

The Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party, too, spoke on similar lines. Asutosh Burma, its president, said: “We oppose any steps that will affect the interest of the Rajbanshis. Thousands of Rajbanshis live in the Dooars. We will decide on a movement demanding that our problems be addressed immediately.”

The voices of discontent have been raised at a time the Mamata Banerjee government has announced a raft of development projects for the hills and signed a deal with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to form the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

Some of the Parishad leaders who had held a joint news conference with the Morcha yesterday to announce that they had agreed to the inclusion of the Dooars-Terai region in the GTA also accused the government of “neglecting” the tribals.

“The chief minister has urged us to maintain peace and take our case to the committee looking into the GTA’s territorial reach. But she has brushed aside our demand for Sixth Schedule status or grant of some for of autonomy so that the tribals’ lot can be improved,” said John Barla, the Dooars-Terai unit president of the Parishad. “We joined hands with the Morcha because our demands have been ignored,” he added.

-TT