Tribal rebels vow to defy state leaders

Kalchini (Alipurduar), Nov. 18: The dissident Adivasi leaders who wanted to join the hill administration today said they would not accept any action against them by the state leadership.

The state committee of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad is slated to meet in Calcutta on November 26 to decide on the action to be taken against five leaders from the Terai and the Dooars.

“Before signing the agreement with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha at Mungpoo, we had conferred with more than 300 members of our units in the Terai and Dooars. We will attend the meeting in Calcutta on November 26 when the state committee takes a decision on our replies to the showcause notices. The state committee will have to declare their decision for or against us. We will not abide by any decision against us,” said John Barla, the former president of the Dooars-Terai regional unit of the Parishad.

Barla, Parishad state secretary Tezkumar Toppo and Sukra Munda, the president of the Progressive Tea Workers Union, an affiliate of the forum, were among the five leaders showcaused by the state committee.

The five were asked to explain why they had entered into an agreement with the Morcha to include the Adivasi-dominated regions in the GTA.

Today, Barla and Munda convened a meeting at the Kalchini Athletic Club where they explained their stand to about 300 Parishad members. Parishad state president Birsa Tirkey came under severe criticism at the meeting. Some supporters even said Tirkey had no right to take decisions on the Adivasis in the Terai and the Dooars.

(The Telegraph)

“We explained to the Parishad members at the meeting that why we had signed the agreement with the Morcha. While Birsa Tirkey was sitting in Calcutta, it was we who had fought the Morcha. Tirkey says the Parishad is not willing to yield an inch of land to the GTA, but he can’t say how development can take place here,” said Barla.

Contacted over the phone, Tirkey said: “Barla has been suspended from his post and he cannot convene a meeting. He is trying to fool the people of our community who are largely illiterate.”

An observer said the rebels know well that the state committee will take stern action against them. “Prior to that, the dissidents are trying to consolidate their position in the Terai and the Dooars.”