DARJEELING, 15 APRIL: A veteran CPI-M leader from the Darjeeling
Hills, Mr K B Wattar, today said the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution
is a better option than the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA)
for the Hills. “But it is not the best option,” he added.
He said
in the same breath that his party is not against the GTA per se.
“However, the problem is that the GTA remains bereft of any
constitutional guarantee. This may land the Hills in trouble in the
coming days. The revival of the representative panchayat system in the
Hills is uncertain. We wonder how a body acting under an Act that has no
Constitutional standing can govern a constitutional system,” he said.
“We went against Mr Subash Ghisingh's attempt to ram the Sixth Schedule
down the Hills as it is basically a tribal-specific provision. The need
of the hour is to devise autonomy in a new way that would cater to the
interests of all sections of the people. The body must be adorned with
sufficient legislative and financial powers, though the judiciary and
home should be kept out of its purview,” the Marxist leader from the
Hills said.
He threw his weight behind the GJMM, citing the
latter’s eagerness to develop the Hills. “It is a good sign that they
have kept agitation on hold. They are veering round to the view that
movement in the name of Gorkhaland at this point of time is
meaningless,” he said.
He expressed concern over a new party ~
Bharatiya Gorkha Janhit Morcha ~ having been formed in the Hills. “This
party might have links with the Maoists. The administration should
immediately try to find out who have floated it,” he said.
statesman news service
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