3 August:
Gorkha Janukti Morcha (GJM) leaders met Union Agriculture Minister
Sharad Pawar on Saturday and renewed their demand for the creation of a
separate state of Gorkhaland.
"We had come to meet Sharad Pawar with our renewed demand of a separate state of Gorkhaland. After the formation of Telangana by the same government, we realized that now the government is in a position to create a separate state and our case history is much older than any separate states demand in the country. And logically also, ours is the most rational and reasonable demand," GJM spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri told media here on Saturday.
"We highlighted all this to Sharad Pawarji and we will also be meeting important leaders. We have requested him to impress upon other important political allies and whenever the Monsoon session of Parliament begins, we have requested him to advocate our case on behalf of GJM," he added.
Chhetri said that the Union Agriculture Minister assured them that he would discuss this with other important leaders. Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) is a semi-autonomous body for Darjeeling Hills that was formed in 2012 after a tripartite agreement involving the Centre and West Bengal and the GJM.
Harka Bahadur Chhetri, who is an MLA from Kalimpong, further said that they had accepted the GTA but the amount of autonomy that was assured was not given to them.
"We have already accepted the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) which was under condition from the Union government and at that point in time the Centre was in no position to create a separate state," he said.
"But the amount of autonomy that was assured was not given to Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and as a result GTA could not function properly. There was no smooth transfer of departments because of which we face lot of problems. It was a process of discrediting the movement as well as Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) and its President Bimal Gurung," he added.
Earlier in the day, an indefinite shutdown had begun in the hills of Darjeeling in West Bengal called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) that has been spearheading the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out of the hill regions of West Bengal since over a decade.
According to reports, on the eve of the shutdown, Gorkhaland supporters allegedly set fire to government property, including a forest bungalow and a police outpost.
"We had come to meet Sharad Pawar with our renewed demand of a separate state of Gorkhaland. After the formation of Telangana by the same government, we realized that now the government is in a position to create a separate state and our case history is much older than any separate states demand in the country. And logically also, ours is the most rational and reasonable demand," GJM spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri told media here on Saturday.
"We highlighted all this to Sharad Pawarji and we will also be meeting important leaders. We have requested him to impress upon other important political allies and whenever the Monsoon session of Parliament begins, we have requested him to advocate our case on behalf of GJM," he added.
Chhetri said that the Union Agriculture Minister assured them that he would discuss this with other important leaders. Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) is a semi-autonomous body for Darjeeling Hills that was formed in 2012 after a tripartite agreement involving the Centre and West Bengal and the GJM.
Harka Bahadur Chhetri, who is an MLA from Kalimpong, further said that they had accepted the GTA but the amount of autonomy that was assured was not given to them.
"We have already accepted the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) which was under condition from the Union government and at that point in time the Centre was in no position to create a separate state," he said.
"But the amount of autonomy that was assured was not given to Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and as a result GTA could not function properly. There was no smooth transfer of departments because of which we face lot of problems. It was a process of discrediting the movement as well as Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) and its President Bimal Gurung," he added.
Earlier in the day, an indefinite shutdown had begun in the hills of Darjeeling in West Bengal called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) that has been spearheading the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out of the hill regions of West Bengal since over a decade.
According to reports, on the eve of the shutdown, Gorkhaland supporters allegedly set fire to government property, including a forest bungalow and a police outpost.
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