Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh national
president Dr. Enos Das Pradhan today announced the organisation’s
decision to support Dr. Mahendra P Lama in the general election in
keeping with the BGP’s strategy of supporting a local candidate.
He said, “Lama is the only capable
candidate from the hills. He is not a puppet in the hands of the state
and central governments at least and we have decided to support his
candidature.”
Talking to reporters today, Pradhan said
the BGP’s policy determination committee recently met in Siliguri and
held extensive discussions on the upcoming polls following which the
leadership officially approved support to Dr. Lama.
The BGP chief also said, “Gorkhaland is
not impossible. We need to unite and work together. We will form a
platform in the national level after the elections to take the demand
ahead,” while adding the GTA and even the Sixth Schedule status will
never fulfill the long-sought aspiration of the Gorkhas.
Talking about the planned BGP national
level platform, Pradhan said Sukman Moktan will be appointed its
convener. Meanwhile, there has been a reshuffle in the policy
determination committee and Bhupendra Adhikari has replaced Prabhakar
Dewan as its general secretary, while R Moktan has become the national
convener.
Further, Pradhan condemned purported
attempts by certain forces to disintegrate the BGP and said members have
also discussed ways to fight such divisive forces.
The BGP president also did not spare
dramatist CK Shrestha and accused him of trying to divert the people’s
attention by proposing a Gorkha National Satellite Council.
He claimed, “The Gorkha National
Satellite Council is but a brainchild of the central government to
suppress the Gorkhaland agitation. He (Shrestha) has been making false
claims that the North-East people are supporting such a council.”(EOIC)