Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung yesterday asserted the political outfit floated on Wednesday by Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chettri was the brainchild of the chief minister and that it would not last for more than two and a half months.
Gurung was speaking here at the Mela ground in Kalimpong at a public meeting, meant to be a show of strength of the Morcha in response to the Jan Andolan Party announced by the Kalimpong MLA yesterday from the same spot.
Addressing thousands of people gathered, the GJM chief said, “I am the type of person that has challenged the Bengal chief minister. Presently the ball (the demand for Gorkhaland) is near the goalpost and now what is left is just to score a goal. Bengal thinks they will lose so they have borrowed players (JAP). What are you (Chhetri) expecting from Banerjee that you are so confident? We expect Gorkhaland from Delhi so we are staying there. I give my blessings to them till two and a half months as they will not last after that. A team should be solid and our team is a solid one.”
He who also maintained that the word Gorkha was not in the Chhetri’s party name because the chief minister had not accepted it.
“If I had worked along-side the chief minister, then these development boards would not have been formed and neither would Chhetri be there. But I did not do so as I did not want to sell my integrity and take personal benefit. As long as I am alive I will work for the benefit of the people,” said Gurung.
In his speech, the GJM chief maintained that his meeting last year with the home minister along with the prime minister had been successful and talks had revolved around Gorkhaland. “I am trying to get an appointment with the prime minister once again within 10 to 12 days and will go to Delhi. I will talk to him regarding the tribal status of 11 communities along with the Gorkhaland demand,” he said.
Commenting on the announcement of the state government of making Kalimpong a district, Gurung said, “Kalimpong cannot be made a district as it has been leased from Bhutan and first the lease should be cancelled and the place incorporated into India. I do not have to make this understood to the state, but the Centre should understand that this is a leasehold land and it should be attached with India.” After the Anglo-Bhutan War in 1864, the Treaty of Sinchula (1865) was signed, in which Bhutanese held territory on the left bank of the Teesta River was ceded to the British East India Company forever.
Gurung also maintained that they would soon holding a mass public meeting in Siliguri in which people including Adivasis, Bengalis and Muslims would be present. According to Gurung, this would be a show of strength to the Bengal chief minister. When asked about the upcoming elections, he said, “I have never said that I will go into an alliance with any party. We will not leave the BJP and moreover, the elections are yet to be announced. We will do whatever the NDA tells us to do.”
Meanwhile, reacting to Gurung’s statement that the JAP would not last long, the Kalimpong MLA said, “Has he become an astrologer that he can predict the future of someone else or the fate of someone’s party? He should concentrate in running his party properly”. He added, “We did not use the word Gorkha in our party’s name as the word has been misused many times and that should not happen. On his (Gurung’s) allegation about Banerjee and our party being one, it is absolutely baseless.”
On the claim of Gurung that Kalimpong has not been made a district as it is a leasehold land, Chettri said, “Gurung should comment on what he knows as the lease by Bhutan to the East India Company was ceded forever. Moreover, the state government has their own legal agencies and they know what can be done or not, otherwise they would have not made the announcement. If a sub-division can be formed and elections held, then a district can also be formed.”
Via: EOIC
Gurung was speaking here at the Mela ground in Kalimpong at a public meeting, meant to be a show of strength of the Morcha in response to the Jan Andolan Party announced by the Kalimpong MLA yesterday from the same spot.
Addressing thousands of people gathered, the GJM chief said, “I am the type of person that has challenged the Bengal chief minister. Presently the ball (the demand for Gorkhaland) is near the goalpost and now what is left is just to score a goal. Bengal thinks they will lose so they have borrowed players (JAP). What are you (Chhetri) expecting from Banerjee that you are so confident? We expect Gorkhaland from Delhi so we are staying there. I give my blessings to them till two and a half months as they will not last after that. A team should be solid and our team is a solid one.”
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| Jan Andolan Party (JAP) Won't Last Long - Predicts Bimal Gurung |
“If I had worked along-side the chief minister, then these development boards would not have been formed and neither would Chhetri be there. But I did not do so as I did not want to sell my integrity and take personal benefit. As long as I am alive I will work for the benefit of the people,” said Gurung.
In his speech, the GJM chief maintained that his meeting last year with the home minister along with the prime minister had been successful and talks had revolved around Gorkhaland. “I am trying to get an appointment with the prime minister once again within 10 to 12 days and will go to Delhi. I will talk to him regarding the tribal status of 11 communities along with the Gorkhaland demand,” he said.
Commenting on the announcement of the state government of making Kalimpong a district, Gurung said, “Kalimpong cannot be made a district as it has been leased from Bhutan and first the lease should be cancelled and the place incorporated into India. I do not have to make this understood to the state, but the Centre should understand that this is a leasehold land and it should be attached with India.” After the Anglo-Bhutan War in 1864, the Treaty of Sinchula (1865) was signed, in which Bhutanese held territory on the left bank of the Teesta River was ceded to the British East India Company forever.
Gurung also maintained that they would soon holding a mass public meeting in Siliguri in which people including Adivasis, Bengalis and Muslims would be present. According to Gurung, this would be a show of strength to the Bengal chief minister. When asked about the upcoming elections, he said, “I have never said that I will go into an alliance with any party. We will not leave the BJP and moreover, the elections are yet to be announced. We will do whatever the NDA tells us to do.”
Meanwhile, reacting to Gurung’s statement that the JAP would not last long, the Kalimpong MLA said, “Has he become an astrologer that he can predict the future of someone else or the fate of someone’s party? He should concentrate in running his party properly”. He added, “We did not use the word Gorkha in our party’s name as the word has been misused many times and that should not happen. On his (Gurung’s) allegation about Banerjee and our party being one, it is absolutely baseless.”
On the claim of Gurung that Kalimpong has not been made a district as it is a leasehold land, Chettri said, “Gurung should comment on what he knows as the lease by Bhutan to the East India Company was ceded forever. Moreover, the state government has their own legal agencies and they know what can be done or not, otherwise they would have not made the announcement. If a sub-division can be formed and elections held, then a district can also be formed.”
Via: EOIC
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