GJMM youth activists raise Gorkhaland pitch | Anti GTA slogans surface in Kalimpong

Darjeeling, 18 July: The slogans for Gorkhaland once again echoed throughout the Darjeeling Hills today, as the youths and students associated with the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha’s affiliates took out a mammoth rally in Darjeeling to mark the second anniversary of the signing of the tripartite Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) agreement. They made it clear that they are against the GTA. They vowed to struggle with everything at their disposal for Gorkhaland ~ their paramount demand.
However, the offices associated with GTA Sabha remained closed to mark the significance of the day.
The observers said that the party chief, Mr Bimal Gurung would bide time before resurrecting the stir in full for separate statehood for the Gorkhas in the Darjeeling Hills and the Terai-Dooars.
“He will keep waiting for the Telangana trajectory to unfold. It is just a matter of time for the Centre to take a final call on the issue of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh,” an observer said.
However, the party’s frontal wings involving the youths and the students appeared to be in no mood for waiting.
The pro-Gorkhaland rallies that were taken out in all the three sub-divisions of the Hills are a signal to the party leadership that it would prove difficult for it to cling to the GTA if Telangana is carved out.
The general secretary of the Morcha’s youth wing, Mr Priyabardan Rai, said the Hills have not seen much development since the tripartite agreement had been signed two years ago.
“The Bengal government is responsible for the lack of development in the Hills. The GTA experiment has failed. We do not want to be suppressed any longer.
 Hence we have taken to the streets to demand Gorkhaland,” he said while addressing the meeting in Darjeeling.(SNS)

Anti GTA slogans surface in Kalimpong

The youth and student’s wing of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today took out a rally in town venting their frustration at the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. They protested with slogans such as ‘GTA go back’ and ‘We want Gorkhaland’.

The demonstrators alleged the GTA is incapable of satisfying the demands of the Gorkhas and appealed to GJM chief Bimal Gurung to rejuvenate the movement for statehood. The rally, which saw the participation of a large number of students and GJM youth cadres, started from the party office at Melli Road to end in Damber Chowk. 

Vidyarthi Morcha vice president Deep Thapa and Yuva Morcha secretary Bal Krishna Thapa said they would send a memorandum to the GJM president. “Gorkhaland is our primary demand. The government has forcibly pressed the GTA on the people of the hills. We have decided not to abide by the GTA but agitate again for Gorkhaland. We will send our demands to the party chief,” they said.

Thapa further said, “The GJM chief had accepted the GTA for the welfare of the people including those from the Terai and Dooars, but the state government does not let it function with freedom.” He assured the youths’ total support to the GJM chief if he resumes the agitation for statehood.(EOIC)