Darjeeling: The CPM on Tuesday demanded immediate elections to
the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), a day after the Gorkha
National Liberation Front (GNLF) said an "apolitical" person should
replace Binay Tamang as the head of the hill body.
"In democracy, an administration cannot be imposed on the
people. Trinamul is running the GTA through proxy," Saman Pathak, a
former Rajya Sabha MP and CPM state secretariat member, said. He was
speaking at an event to commemorate May Day. It was the CPM's first
public meeting in Darjeeling in over a year.
Others at the meeting said the CPM was not opposed to the revival of
the GTA. "We welcome GTA-2 (the new term of the hill body) but our
demand is that elections should be held not just for the GTA but also
for the panchayats," said K.B. Wattar, a district committee member of
the CPM.
A board of administrators headed by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Tamang has been running the GTA since September last year.
Tuesday's meeting also renewed a demand for linguistic
minority status to the Gorkha language. "The language should be given
the status amending the Indian Constitution. Such a status will provide
security to the Gorkhas," said Pathak.
The CPM - which had as the erstwhile ruling party in Bengal
faced the brunt of the 1986 statehood agitation spearheaded by GNLF
founder Subash Ghisingh - spoke against indulging in "the politics of
emotions". "The people have no faith, confidence in any party from the
hills," Pathak added.
The Telegraph