Guwahati: The All Assam Gorkha Students' Union on Friday
slammed the BJP-led state government for not including any MLA from the
Gorkha community in the Sarbananda Sonowal cabinet.
The union's reaction came a day after the ministry expansion of the Sarbananda Sonowal government.
"The BJP came to power in Assam only because of 100 per cent
votes form the Gorkha community. The Gorkha people of the state were
hopeful of a better future. However, this government is not paying us
any attention. There is not a single minister in the cabinet from our
community," Sanjib Chetry, the general secretary of the union, said.
In the Assembly, there are two representatives from the Gorkha
community, Bhaskar Sarma from Margherita and Ganesh Kumar Limbu from
Barchalla.
Both of them were elected for the first time.
"From Independence to 2016, the representatives of the Gorkha
community always used to get preference in the ministry. However, from
2016, the situation changed. Even in any corporation and department of
the state, we have no representative," Chetry rued.
A statement issued by the students' union said, "There are 25
lakh Gorkhas living in Assam. They are the indigenous people of the
state. In the 2016 elections, the union actively supported the BJP and
it had assured us that it would work for the development of the
community. But it has not been implemented yet."
"We have submitted several memoranda to chief minister
Sarbananda Sonowal. We demand our representative in the ministry," it
said.
The Telegraph