KALIMPONG, 26 SEPTEMBER: All India Gorkha League (AIGL) organised a political meeting at Damber Chowk in Kalimpong yesterday. Speaking at the meeting, All India Gorkha League President Madan Tamang said, “Attempts are being made to uproot All India Gorkha League and hence I decided to organise this meeting to give some advice to these very people who wants to uproot us. I also want to let the people know about the present political situation in the Hills.” [Inset: Gorkha League President Madan Tamang addressing the meeting at Kalimpong. Photo by Himalaya Darpan]
Speaking about the Gorkhaland Movement led by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, AIGL President said, “The movement lead by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is not being implemented at an intellectual plain. Evidences of carelessness are rampant and if this is so there are reasons to believe that the people ,who have spent 20 years under Ghisingh’s supressive rule may have to endure another 20 years of suppressive rule. Gorkha League is not in opposition to Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. But we have been seemingly made to stand in the opposition. Gorkha League protested the imposition of Sixth Schedule Status in the hills in the favour of Gorkhaland. We were the ones to make the road upon which others are walking today. People who are against Gorkhaland should be called the opposition. Gorkha League wants a Gorkhaland Movement which is ideologically based. There should be a unification of agitational programmes, collective leadership and a greater movement. Why are we being dubbed as the opposition when we are talking about these things? We should be involved in a bigger and better movement for Gorkhaland. When we are saying that why are we being threatened to be uprooted. People who are thinking to uproot us should first try to find their own roots first. We had told our representative at the Tripartite Meeting, to only listen and say nothing. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha wrote their own memorandum and asked us to sign. Am I an idiot who will sign without knowing what is written in it? I had told them that we should read the memorandum and if needed amend it by adding or subtracting the clauses. They did not accept. All they demanded was my confirmation. When I asked them to give the papers of the indoor talk they had with Buddhadev Bhattacharya they did not agree. I had asked them during the first all party meeting itself as to what should be done with Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. They were and are still silent. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has not as yet passed any resolutions. I had asked each and every party to come up with a resolution on Gorkhaland which would be submitted to the Central and State Committees but nothing has happened as yet. What is this? Will Gorkhaland be achieved only by uttering the word – Gorkhaland. We must work in a planned and a principled manner.”
Warning the people about another suppressive rule, Madan Tamang said, “Gorkha National Liberation Front ruled us for 20 years by suppressing all forces of liberty we cannot allow any other political party do so again. In the coming Tripartite Meeting we should also take representatives from Gorkha community. Representatives from Bhutia and Lepcha communities must also be included because detractors have already started saying that the land belongs to the Lepcha or the Bhutias. We must also involve the elected representatives such as the MLAs and MPs. Dawa Narbula and other Legislators and Parliamentarians must speak out. The 51 page memorandum submitted during the first Tripartite Meeting must also be made public. What kind of mess is Dawa Narbula cooking up in New Delhi? We cannot wait for what the Centre and the State are cooking up for us. It was Congress who cooked up the Sixth Schedule mess. We are demanding for the separate state of Gorkhaland for our better economic future. Bengal Government chose Subash Ghisingh who was guilty of siphoning money from various projects including ‘education for all’. Presently, the State government is trying to force out Gorkhas from the Hills by closing down Tea Estates. We are demanding for Gorkhaland because West Bengal Government failed us. No conditions based on population and area have been laid in the Constitution for the formation of a state. Sikkim has 5 lakh population we have 10 lakhs. Why is Gorkhaland possible? Gorkhaland will be bigger than some states in the east. Gorkha League is ready for the deliberation. The files at Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council were enough to implicate Subash Ghisingh on the siphoning of millions of rupees. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha raided homes and seized important files. Lawyers with allegiance to Gorkha jJanmukti Morcha took the files or went over them without any warrant. What happened to all those files? News of thousands of Crores of fake projects were unearthed. What happened? Everyone including Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is silent at present. This is because all the former Councillors who would have also been implicated are in Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. Why have people who put in tender even for ‘free text books for school’ been given high ranking place by Gorkha Janmutki Morcha? Weren’t they suppose to be implicated in criminal conspiracy against the people? Why were they instead being felicitated? “
The meeting was also addressed by other leaders of All India Gorkha League. These included Sujit Rai, Prem Bomzan, S. K. Pradhan and Prem Kumar Chettri.