Asserting that a separate state was
the birth right of the Gorkhas of the country, the All Assam Gorkha
Students’ Union (AAGSU) today appealed to Kalimpong MLA
Harka Bahadur Chhetri to stop indulging in opportunistic politics and
instead support the Gorkhaland demand.
A four-member AAGSU delegation led by
PremTamang, the outfit’s president, is in Darjeeling to meet
GorkhaJanmuktiMorcha president BimalGurung and lend its support for the
statehood demand. On Wednesday, the delegation, comprising RohitLamsal,
the organisational secretary, Raj Newar, the publicity secretary and
SantoshChhetri, an executive member of the body, held a press conference
in Darjeeling and announced that AAGSU would even organise rallies
against the Kalimpong MLA in Assam in the coming days. “In Darjeeling
certain people like Chhetri are indulging in opportunistic politics in
the name of development. It must however, be remembered that the
statehood demand is not only of the Darjeeling hills, but of the entire
Gorkha community of the country,” Tamang said. “The Kalimpong MLA is
also a son of the soil. But he is trying to divide the people with
development issues. Our identity and not development is our priority at
the moment,” he added. Chhetri, after severing ties with the GJM, has
announced he would float a political party on January 27. But he has
refused to prioritise the statehood demand and instead is banking on
development issues to garner people’s support.
The AAGSU president reiterated that
Gorkhas living in Assam and the Northeast had always supported the
statehood cause and would continue to do so in future, the reason being
for identity. “We (Gorkhas) have always been labelled as ‘outsiders’ and
‘foreigners’ even though we have and continue to sacrifice our lives
for the nation. Therefore, for the sake of the 35 lakh Gorkhas in Assam
and over 1 crore in the country, a separate Gorkha state becomes
imperative. On the question of the apparent need of development of the
region for the welfare of the hill people being more important than that
of a separate state which needs to get the nod of the state government
and parliament and which could take a while, the AAGSU president said,
“Development and rights are two
different issues. Once our right is achieved things like development
will follow. In fact, we fail to fathom why the Bengal government talks
of development only when the statehood issue gets positive response,”
Tamang pointed out.
The AAGSU members also questioned the
Kalimpong MLA’s claim to taking credit for a new district saying it was
only to confuse the people.
“In Assam five new districts and 12
sub-divisions were formed without any demand for them. So why is Chhetri
claiming credit for a separate Kalimpong district? We feel once a state
is achieved, the leaders and administrators can always work on it
according to the needs,” Tamang reasoned. (EOIC)
Post a Comment