GTA meeting: GJM sets condition for participation

Darjeeling 24 August:

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has set a condition if it is to participate in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration meeting scheduled for September 4, with party president Bimal Gurung asserting he would not revert back to the post of the chief executive until a separate state is achieved.

The GJM wants all arrested party leaders and GTA elected members to be released from judicial custody first. “Our condition for participation is that all GTA members and leaders must first be released from the jails they are held in,” said Gurung.

Police have arrested 10 GTA sabhasads since July 29, including 721 activists and leaders citing previous cases. The GJM president was reacting to the state government’s condition - release of party leaders upon participation in the GTA meeting on September 4 - to elect the new chief executive as the post is lying vacant since Gurung’s resignation on July 31. He had stepped down in protest of the Union government announcing its decision to create a Telangana state.

“Will the state government run the GTA from jail? As for me not even in my dreams will I go back to the GTA! My goal is a separate Gorkhaland state and I will continue the struggle till it is achieved,” asserted Gurung, refusing to comment on the proposed visit to Darjeeling by chief minister Mamata Banerjee from September 10 to 12. “We have nothing to say on the CM’s visit,” he said.

When asked if the state government had indeed sent a proposal to sit for talks, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said, “We have not received any formal communication from the state government. Whatever the case, we remain resolute that first all the arrested GTA members must be released”.

The GJM is not comfortable with the fact that the state government could elect the chief executive from the five nominated members in the GTA in order to scuttle the statehood movement. Observers believe the Morcha demanding the release of the arrested leaders is a ploy to keep the state government at bay for the time being.

When reminded of the possibility of the arrested GTA members participating in the election process, Giri said, “We are not talking about the arrested GTA members getting paroles just to participate in the election process. We want them to be released unconditionally”.

GTA principal secretary RD Meena said all GTA members have been served notice to participate in the September 4 meeting in Darjeeling.

“We started serving notices to the GTA members from August 20 and all have been informed about the meeting,” he said, adding he was not entitled to comment on how the arrested members would attend the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee, which is presently leading the people’s agitation, refused to read much into the GJM’s condition for participating in the GTA meeting. “A resolution by the GJAC, to which the GJM was also a party, was taken to scrap the GTA at a proper time. We hope the GJM honours our trust,” said GJAC chairman Enos Das Pradhan when asked for his comments.

Surprisingly, the Gorkha Rastriya Congress today announced its decision to part ways from the joint forum citing ideological differences. The All India Gorkha League too, has left the GJAC over the issue of dissolving the GTA.

The Darjeeling hills remained peaceful with no reports of untoward incidents as the ‘sadak ma janta’ agitation continues.

The proposed torch rallies and human chain on state and national highways have been postponed and a fresh programme will be announced by the GJAC after a meeting on August 30.