Rift between Jan Andolan Party (JAP) and the Trinamool Congress Began

11:05 AM

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TMC

Trinamool magic won't work in Darjeeling hills: JAP

Darjeeling, Sept. 26:In an obvious sign of relations souring up between the Jan Andolan Party and the Trinamool Congress, the JAP today rebuffed the TMC’s attempts to make inroads in the hills, asserting no national-level party would be able to usurp power in the region.

The latest swipe comes in the wake of chief minister Mamata Banerjee recently clarifying in a public programme that it was her and her government’s decision to form a separate Kalimpong district.

“We (hills) cherish regional feelings and sentiments when it comes to politics, whatever parties we may be associated with. No national party has been able to rule in the hills as the history of the place shows,” asserted Amar Lama, senior JAP bureau member, today durig a press briefing in Darjeeling.

Going a step further, Lama challenged the TMC to form the government in Tripura first. “Why, Darjeeling hills, we challenge the TMC to first form government in Tripura,” the JAP leader said.

Rift between Jan Andolan Party (JAP) and the Trinamool Congress Began

What has also irked the JAP leadership is the chief minister's reluctance to give credit to the party, the political ally of the TMC in the hills, with regard to the formation of the new district.

Coming out in defence of the party’s president, Lama reiterated that it was the strong pitch made by JAP chief Harka Bahadur Chhetri and the District Demand Committee (DDC) that made the state government decide to create Kalimpong district. “Our party president and the DDC pursued the issue of creating a Kalimpong district relentlessly. It was this untiring effort and pursuance that gave the state government the impetus to come to a decision. The chief minister cannot deny this fact,” said Lama.

The JAP has all along taken credit for the state government's decision to form a Kalimpong district, which apparently was not announced by the chief minister during her latest three-day visit to the hills,

much against popular expectations. Speaing at a programme organised by the Lepcha development board in Kalimpong, Banerjee clarified that nobody had pursued the matter with her to create Kalimpong district. Interestingly, Chhetri who is also the Kalimpong MLA, was among the invitees to the function and was seated on the dais when Banerjee uttered her statement.

The JAP president initially dabbled for a Kalimpong district as a member of the DDC after severing ties with the GJM before he went on to float the JAP to contest the assembly election riding on the Kalimpong district issue. Lama also took offence to the war of words between the state government and the GJM over allocation of funds to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. He said,

“Rather than indulging in making claims and allegations, the state government should ask the Comptroller Auditor General to audit the expenditure accounts of the GTA. It can be done on the basis of section 55, clause 9 of the GTA Act under the Funds and Audit section." Lama also suggested that if at all anomalies were found in the audit, the GTA Sabha should be dissolved then.

Mamata Banerjee has claimed that the state government had allocated Rs 4,000 crore to the GTA for development over a period of four years since the formation of the council in 2012. Refuting the claim,  GJM president Bimal Gurung has announced a 12 hour strike in the hills on September 28, seeking a clarification from the state government.

Via (EOIC)

JAP raps GTA & Mamata on funds
Darjeeling, Sept. 26: The Jana Andolan Party today accused both Mamata Banerjee and Bimal Gurung of indulging in politics over the GTA funds and asked the state government to conduct an audit of the hill body.

Amar Lama, a bureau member of the JAP, today said: "The chief minister had come up with a Rs 1,000 crore figure during a public meeting in Kurseong in March and after a few months, she talks about Rs 4,000 crore in Kalimpong. Instead of speaking on an issue like this at a public gathering, the chief minister should act seriously. The state government should ask the CAG to conduct an audit and if they find financial irregularities, the state should supersede the GTA as is laid out in the Act."

Lama further said the chief minister was raising the funds issue only when her relation with the Morcha was on the rocks. "Why is the issue being raised only when the relation between the two parties has hit a low? Had the relation (between the Morcha and Trinamul) been steady, it seems, the chief minister would have never raised the issue," said Lama.

In the recent Assembly elections, the JAP was in an alliance with the Trinamul Congress.

Accusing the Morcha of failing to be transparent, Lama said: "The Morcha must be transparent on the issue. The GTA, which is controlled by the Morcha, should give a proper reply to funds queries and should not hide details on money matters. However, there was no need to call a general strike on an issue related to claims and counter-claims on funds."

Late in the evening, Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha, said the Wednesday strike was also to strengthen the voice of Gorkhaland, which the state government was trying to scuttle in all possible ways. - Telegraph

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JAP Dr Harka Bahadur Chetri filed his nomination for Assembly Election 2016

8:55 PM

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Politics

Mukesh Sharma

Kalimpong,26th March JAP (Jan Andolan Party) president Dr Harka Bahadur Chetri filed his nomination as an independent candidate from Klimpong today for Assembly Election 2016. Before Dr Chhetri filed his nomination he was escorted by massive party supporter to Thana Dara where a small election program was held. Dr Chhetri addressing the rally said "this is the historical day for all who are standing here.This is the day to rub the stane that Kalimpong does not produce any leader. This challenge is given to kalimpong self respect and we will make Kalimpong District"

In the presence of thousands of supporter Dr Chhetri said that he will win the election. Without naming Morcha he said other party leader goes to Delhi and bring bag full of mere assurance but when I resigned and left morcha, within three month the State cabinet passed the bill of Kalimpong District which is a historical achievement.

He said who have done what till now will be decided by the mass. He appealed the mass to look upon District demand issue and vote for him, He said dont look upon the candidate but look into the issue .

JAP Election Manifesto was launched by Dr Chhetri along with the JAP Beuro members Anmol Prasad, Amar Lama and others.

JAP Dr Harka Bahadur Chetri filed his nomination for Assembly Election 2016

The manifesto have given first preference to Statehood along with District of Kalimpong, Grant of special status to communities and student, zero tolerance to corruption, waivers of pending electricity dues and delivery services, promotion of handicraft and skill development, water action plan, Panchayat Raj and return of rural rearmament, regularization of temporary workers etc

After the rally the party supporter along with Dr Chhetri took out a massive rally in the town which saw a traffic halt for near about half and hour.

The rally encircling the whole market area reached to SDO Kalimpong office premised where Dr Chhetri filed his nomination to returning officer Nirmalay Gharami.

After nomination process was over he said I am feeling fresh, as if I am filing the nomination for the first time.


Source kalimpongnewsexpress

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Harka confirms to contest Assembly election as the candidate of JAP from Kalimpong

8:04 AM

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TMC

TMC Harka shock

Vivek Chhetri

Darjeeling, March 4: The fledgling Jan Andolan Party (JAP) that was looking to fight this election today got a shock when Mamata Banerjee announced that its chief, Harka Bahadur Chhetri, would be the Trinamul candidate from Kalimpong.

The announcement was made by the chief minister this evening.

A Trinamul senior leader, when asked about Chhetri's candidature, today said: "Chhetri had sent a letter to Trinamul agreeing to contest as the party's candidate."

Chhetri said in the evening that he would contest as a candidate of his own party. "The confusion was created due to Trinamul's hurry. I would like to clarify that I will contest as the candidate of the JAP from Kalimpong. I would welcome support from any other political party, including Trinamul," he said.

A JAP leader who did not want to be named said they would not believe the claim of any other party without any hard evidence.

The Jan Andolan Party, formed by Chhetri after he quit the Morcha over differences with its chief Bimal Gurung, was ridiculed by the hill's main political force.

While JAP leaders said there "must be a genuine mistake" on Trinamul's part, the Morcha said the fledgling hill party was so democratic that it allowed its chief to contest for another party.

The jab was a Chhetri who quit the Morcha after complaining that Gurung was autocratic.

Amar Lama, a member of the bureau in the Jan Andolan Party, said: "This must be a genuine mistake. There were talks of an alliance with TMC but how can the president of another party announce the name of our president as their official candidate. He (Harka Bahadur) is not a primary member of the TMC. The statement has to be withdrawn immediately and the mistake rectified."

Even if there was talk of an alliance with Trinamul, Mamata's announcement has virtually closed this option with the announcement of Shanta Chhetri and Sharda Rai Subba as Trinamul candidates from Kurseong and Darjeeling, respectively.

"The announcement of Harka Bahadur's name is out of the blue and a cause of a major embarrassment," said a Jan Andolan Party supporter.

The Morcha did not let go of the opportunity today to laugh at Chhetri.

Binay Tamang, the assistant secretary of the Morcha, said: "We always said Harka Bahadur Chhetri was working to dilute our statehood demand and this has been proved after he was officially named the Trinamul Congress candidate from Kalimpong. Everyone in the hills knows that TMC is opposed to the statehood demand."

Tamang ridiculed Chhetri, saying: "We always said Harka Bahadur is the B-Team of the TMC in the hills. It has now been proved that they are the A-Team of the TMC and the hill TMC leaders are actually the B- team. The JAP seems to have so much democracy in its party that its president can also be named as the official candidate of another party."

Telegraph

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JAP's Parza Patta Committee starts dharna demanding Land rights

10:34 AM

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Parza Patta Committee

Darjeeling 17 Feb 2016: The Parza Patta Committee which is the frontal organization of the recently formed political outfit the Jan Andolan Party today started an indefinite relay dharna in front of the district administration office making it their first ever agitation program of the party in the hills which till now has only been concentrating in public and indoor meetings.

The JAP Bureau member Amar Lama said, “Land rights has been a long standing demand of people living in forests, cinchona and tea gardens.

Most of them have been living in these places for more than 100 years but do not have a land of their own. According to the law the land belongs to them and there are provisions in the Land Acquisition Act regarding this. When the GTA Accord was signed we had hoped that in the interim arrangement something would be done in this regards but nothing happened.”

“We want that the area of land in which they are staying in presently the government should settle it accordingly and want the government to start the process. If some tea gardens agree to this it will automatically put pressure to other gardens. We want to start a dialogue with the government due to which we have started this peaceful program of dharna from today onwards. We will see what the reaction of the government is and if nothing happens we will launch other programs which will also be peaceful and democratic in nature,” said Lama who added that due to this being examination time they were not using any loudspeakers of any kind in their program.

JAP's Parza Patta Committee demand Land rights 

Echoing his words the Parza Patta Committee convener Sudeep Karkisaid, “Our organization was formed way back in November 23rd with the demand of land rights when the JAP had also not been formed but later on we got attached with the party and today we are together starting this relay dharna which will be done until we get a response from the government.”

Political observers feel that the JAP who will be contesting in the upcoming Bidhan Sabha elections will focus on the issue of land rights to gain public support from people living in the tea gardens and the cinchona area with a major chunk of population in the hills living there.

Today the dharna which started from 11 in the morning had 11 women and 18 boys participating in it from different places like Takdah, Teesta, BaraPubung. After 24 hours another set of people will sit in the dharna.

The JAP president Harka Bahadur Chettri was not present today.

When contacted the Darjeeling district magistrate Anurag Srivastavsaid, “The matter is something related to government policy but we will forward the matter of their demand to the concerned department.”

(EOIC)

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JAP's first meeting in Darjeeling decides to hold dharna for Land Rights for Tea and Cinchona Workers

10:03 PM

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Politics

Vivek Chhetri

The Jan Andolan Party today held its first meeting in Darjeeling and decided to organise dharnas across the hills to demand land rights for tea garden and cinchona plantation workers.

Most of the 87 tea gardens in the hills are in Darjeeling and Kurseong subdivisions. The issue of land rights is likely to touch the majority of the people in the two subdivisions as tea garden workers, who comprise more than 70 percent of the population in the two subdivisions, do not have any right over the land where they have been living for generations.

Amar Lama, a member of the JAP's bureau, said today: "During the meeting, it was decided that dharnas would be organised to demand land rights as this is an important issue for our people living in tea gardens and cinchona plantations. Even though we plan to hold the dharnas soon, the date and venues will be announced later."

Jan Andolan Party today held its first meeting in Darjeeling

During the meeting, the JAP, launched by Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri in January, formed an ad hoc committee of the Darjeeling subdivision. Salim Tamang has been appointed as the convener of the subdivisional committee, while Pranay Rana has been made the convener of the party's subdivisional youth wing.

"Various GTA constituency-level committees have already been created. Trade union units have also been formed at Liza Hill, Rangmook, Cedar and Ging tea gardens," said Lama.

The bureau member said the party had decided not to impose decision from the top. "We are empowering respective committees to take their own decision. For example, the subdivisional committee will not interfere in the formation of constituency committees," said Lama.

The various committees have also been asked to start membership drive across the hills. "We are also launching a signature campaign on granting land rights. We want to collect at least 1 lakh signatures in the campaign," said Lama.

Simultaneously, JAP leaders have started visiting different places in the hills to hear the grievances of the public. "We have started the drive in Kalimpong subdivision and are launching the same in Darjeeling and Kurseong subdivisions soon," said Lama.

Mahendra P. Lama, the chairman of the bureau, when asked about the coming elections, said: "Our party will be contesting the elections."

The JAP is also looking at opening an office in Darjeeling town. "We have recently opened a contact office at Ghoom and are looking at opening a party office in the town soon," Amar Lama said.

Source: Telegraph

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गोर्खाल्यान्डको लागि जनमत भएको गोजमुमोले गोर्खाल्याण्ड ल्याउनुपर्ने हो- अमर लामा

5:00 PM

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Politics

एक साता अघि अस्तित्वमा आएको नयाँ राजनैतिक दल जन आन्दोलन पार्टी (जाप)-का शीर्ष नेताहरूले अलग राज्यको मुद्दामा मोर्चा नेताहरूको टिप्पणीको प्रतिक्रिया दिएका छन। दलको आन्तरिक साङ्गठिक बैठकमा भाग लिन कालेबुङ आएका जापका ब्युरो प्रमुख डा महेन्द्र पी लामा, सदस्यहरू अनमोल प्रसाद, अमर लामाले मोर्चा नेताहरूले जापको मुद्दा र कार्यक्रमहरूबारे टिप्पणी गर्नको साटो आफ्नो दलको मुद्दा र जनतासँग गरेका वचनहरू पूरा गर्न आफ्नो उर्जा लगाउनु पर्ने सुझाउ दिएका छन्। आन्तरिक बैठकपछि आयोजित पत्रकार सम्मेलनमा दलका अध्यक्ष डा हर्कबहादुर छेत्री, ब्युरो प्रमुख डा महेन्द्र पी लामा, अनमोल प्रसाद, अमर लामाले पत्रकारहरूले सोधेको प्रश्नहरूको उत्तर दिएका थिए। गत 27 जनवरीक दिन कालेबुङमा भएको जनसभामा मोर्चा नेतृत्वले जापको घोषणापत्रमा गोर्खाल्यान्डको मुद्दा उल्लेख नभएको दावी गर्दै आलोचना गरेका थिए। दलको ब्युरो चेयरमेन डा लामाले यो सम्बन्धमा प्रतिक्रिया जनाउँदै भने, “केन्द्रमा त्यही दल छ जसले तीनवटा नयाँ राज्यहरूको गठन गरिसकेको छ। गत विधानसभा चुनामा बिजेपीले आन्ध्रप्रदेशमा एक भोट, दुइ स्टेटको नारामा चुनाउ लडेकै हो। त्यही बिजेपीको उम्मेद्वारलाई यहाँबाट लोकसभा चुनाउ जिताएर पठाइयो। अहिले संसदमा गोर्खाल्यान्डको बील ल्याउन यो दललाई के समस्या छ? मोर्चा नेताहरूले कालेबुङका जनतालाई दिग्भ्रमित पार्ने कुराहरू किन गर्छन्? उनीहरू यति ठूलो ठूलो कुरा गर्छन तर खास गर्नुपर्ने कुरै गर्दैनन। मोर्चाले बिजेपीलाई संसदमा गोर्खाल्याण्डको बील ल्याउन लगावोस्। केन्द्रीय विश्वविद्यालय, मेडिकल संस्थानहरूको बील ल्याउन लगावोस्। कुरै सकिहाल्छ नि” यता, ब्युरो सदस्य अमर लामाले पनि आफ्नो प्रतिक्रिया जाहेर गर्दै चुनाउमा जनमत पाएर गएको दलले भर्खरै अस्तित्वमा आएको दललाई गोर्खाल्यान्डको निम्ति दबाउ दिनु युक्तिसङ्गत नहुने बताएका छन। गोजमुमोले गोर्खाल्याण्डको निम्ति जनमत प्राप्त गरेको कारण यसको गठनलाई लिएर पनि यही दल अधिक जिम्मेवार र जवाफदेहि हुनु पर्ने लामाको भनाइ छ।

“जुन दलको आफ्नो मेनिफेष्टो छैन, त्यही दलका नेताहरूले हाम्रो मेनिफेष्टोलाई माइक्रोसकोप लगाएर हेर्ने के काम छ? बिजेपीको घटक दल बनेर मोर्चाले अहलुवालियालाई सांसद बनाएर पठाएको हो। मोर्चालाई 2019सम्म गोर्खाल्यान्डको लागि जनमत छ। घटक दल भएको नाताले प्रधानमञ्त्री, गृहमञ्त्री, सांसद सबै उनीहरूकै छ। उनीहरूले चैँ वास्तवमा गोर्खाल्यान्ड ल्याउनु पर्ने हो। यद्यपि, हामी नयाँ पार्टी भएर पनि आफ्नो घोषणापत्रमा अलग राज्यको मुद्दालाई शीर्ष स्थानमा राखेका छौं” वरिष्ठ अधिवक्ता लामाले भने।

Via Kalimpongpost

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