BGJSM Rally for tribal status in Darjeeling

The Bharatiya Gorkha Janjati Sangarsha Mahasangh (BGJSM), an affiliate of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, today organised a rally starting from the Lower Motor-stand to Chowrasta with the demand for granting tribal status to 11 communities, 10 from the hills and one from the Dooars.
The BGJSM demanded for a blanked grant of tribal status to the 11 communities instead of giving special favours to individual communities. It criticised the state government for granting special provisions to communities like the Lepchas to divide the Gorkha community. The 11 communities comprise the Bhujel, Gurung, Mangar, Newar, Jogi, Khas, Rai, Sunwar, Thami, Yakha (Dewan) communities from the hills and Dhimal from the plains. GJM leader Asha Gurung said they have not given up on the demand for a Gorkhaland state in place of tribal status, and that securing tribal status for the 11 communities would only bolster the fight for achieving a separate state.
Calling on Opposition parties, she said: “We do not ask you to join our party, we seek your support in our demand for tribal status as it is for the benefit of all.” Meanwhile, later in the afternoon, Shardha Subba, the president of the TMC Mahila hill unit, held a press conference where she pointed out that in a meeting on May 25, the Union Cabinet gave its ex-facto approval for the granting of ST status to certain tribes in Assam, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Not even one from the 11 Gorkha communities has been included in this official announcement, she said. She accused the GJM of making farcical claims and toying with the gullible public to further its own interests. “In an age of smart-phones, I implore to the public to thoroughly investigate into such claims,” she concluded. (EOI)