DARJEELING,: Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) today put up black flags in different parts of the hills to demonstrate that they were not happy with the BJP-led Central government who have not fulfilled their promises yet.
The GNLF leaders maintained that they were doing this as Gorkhas and not as party cadres. The program was observed not only in Darjeeling but also in Kurseong, Mirik and Kalimpong.
"The central government had not given us justice so we are putting up black flags against it. As announced by our president Mann Ghisingh on Saheed Diwas on July 27, we are doing this as Gorkhas and not as party cadres," said GNLF leader M.G. Subba.
“We will continue with our program of putting up black flags in the coming days with us planning to put it up in different road stretches of the hills also. Twenty years has passed but the centre has not given us justice and we are trying to pressurise the centre to grant the issues of the Gorkhas,” he added.
The GNLF have been sharing an electoral alliance with the BJP for some years now with them also having supported the BJP candidate Raju Bista for the Darjeeling seat recently for the issue of a Permanent Political Solution (PPS) and tribal status for 11 Gorkha communities. Many feel that the political outfit going against the BJP could mean that they have lost hope on the BJP.
“We voted for the BJP supporting our issues but now we feel that Bista is changing his colour. He is busy in strengthening their party in the hills instead of taking up their issues with the government,” said Subba.
On the other hand, GNLF secretary general Neeraz Zimba, who is the BJP MLA from Darjeeling, today in the West Bengal Assembly said that the motion concerning the division of Bengal is not within the jurisdiction of the State legislature but fell within the purview of the Central government.
In his address in the Assembly, he said, “Today, I speak not as a member bound by any political affiliations or ideologies but as a true representative of the Indian Gorkha community residing all over India, especially in the Darjeeling Hills, Kalimpong, Terai and Dooars region. Our community has long been denied political and constitutional justice within the framework of the Indian Constitution.”
Unless Article 3 is amended or repealed, such a motion lacks substantive meaning and could be considered a virus to the essence of our Constitution. We are caught in a situation where we either need to scrap Article 3 or acknowledge that such motions are beyond our legislative capacity.”
Zimba maintained that he was aware that the majority of his colleagues, even within his own party fold, do not support the division or bifurcation of West Bengal.
“But this debate is not merely about division or separation; it is about addressing a historical injustice. The Darjeeling Hills and surrounding areas were merged with West Bengal in 1947 and this merger was neither constitutional nor just as it failed to consider the distinct identity and aspirations of the Gorkha community, " he said while adding that words like "separation", "division", "disintegration" and "bifurcation" will have negative connotation and impact in existing political literature and discourse.
Zimba urged the House to view the Gorkhaland movement as an opportunity to rectify this historical blunder.
“A separate State could address the long-standing issues of mis-governance, exploitation and historical oversight in the Darjeeling Hills and neighboring areas. The demerger of Darjeeling Hills from Bengal will not lead to violence or ethnic conflict. Just as Telangana and Andhra Pradesh coexist peacefully today, so too, can West Bengal and Gorkhaland,” he said in his address while maintaining that it was time for both the Central and State governments to deliver justice to the Indian Gorkhas.