Dr. Harka Bahadur Chettri welcomes Gorkhaland Task Force stance

Kalimpong, Pradip Lohagun: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief spokesman Dr. Harka Bahadur Chettri has welcomed the stance of the Gorkhaland Task Force about all parties including the GJM uniting to strengthen the Gorkhaland movement.
Speaking for the Morcha on the proposal made by the GTF Joint Action Committee at a press meet today in Kalimpong, Chettri said, “The stance is a welcome one as all stakeholders can meet and chalk out strategies that need to be adopted. I believe moving ahead in this manner will strengthen our struggle. When the statehood issue is a concern for everyone, each person must come forward to fight as one. Earlier, we were pained by the opposition’s attitude of not participating in the movement and only making comments.”
The spokesperson also said the promises made by the state government to make the GTA strong and powerful are no longer acceptable to the GJM.  “If the GTA was acceptable, why would we go to Delhi? We would have gone to the state government.
Approaching the central government means we have no other option. Now, we will not talk about anything apart from Gorkhaland,” remarked Chettri.  He said the GJM is not considering accepting a Union Territory and has refused to engage in talks about such a proposal for Darjeeling.  “The proposal about a UT status for Darjeeling wasn’t raised by us. It came from Mamata Bannerjee and I don’t know which sources she is citing as saying we want such a status. No Morcha delegation, and I was present in all of them, has ever talked about a UT,” claimed Chettri.
The GJM leader also revealed a five-member committee has been formed and given the responsibility of chalking out future plans and programmes for the statehood movement. He said the agitation this time would be more intense in comparison to all other movements in the past.
The GJM central committee has also passed a resolution that states the three Hill MLAs, GTA members and all elected members of the municipalities would resign from their respective posts, added Chettri.
He further said the GJM is well-aware of the state government’s plans to crush its movement by using force.  “The state government is ready to convert our democratic movement into something else. We should come out on the streets fully prepared to make the final sacrifice,” concluded Chettri.