Mamata violated terms of tripartite agreement: Gorkhas

Warning of a very 'intense' movement in the hills if Telengana is carved and Darjeeling is not, Gorkhaland Janamukti Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri accused West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee of violating the spirit and terms of the tripartite agreement. Sanjib Kr Baruah reports.

Warning of a very 'intense' movement in the hills if Telengana is carved and Darjeeling is not, Gorkhaland Janamukti Morcha (GJM) general secretary Roshan Giri accused West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee of violating the spirit and terms of the tripartite agreement.

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"The agreement was signed after placing the demand for Gorkhaland on record. Now what does she mean by saying Darjeeling is an integral part of West Bengal?" Giri asked.

A tripartite agreement between the GJM, state government and the Centre was signed on July 18, 2012, which provided for an autonomous and elected Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), with more powers than the earlier Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council that was formed in the 1988.

"Why did she distribute land 'pattas' during her visit to Darjeeling on Tuesday when land and land revenue is a GTA subject?"

"Darjeeling was never a part of West Bengal. It was a part of Sikkim and Bhutan. Darjeeling in West Bengal is an accident of history," he said.

Talking to HT after meeting the Union home secretary RK Singh on Thursday, Giri said Singh had stressed on the need to maintain peace and that there will be no need to agitate for Gorkhaland. "We don't how what the home ministry has in mind."

Warning of serious consequences if the demand for Darjeeling is not considered soon, Giri said 'intensified' peoples' aspirations will come to the fore and they will 'face up' to the force that the government may impose.

Giri's comments come after GJM chief Bimal Gurung's reported statement on Wednesday that the movement for a separate state will resort to undemocratic means that also warned of 'violence' and 'bloodbath'.

While Giri stopped short of saying that violent means would be adopted, there are lurking fears that the 10,000-strong Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP), an organization of volunteering youth formed in 2009, may prove difficult to control in the event of controlling measures by the government.

While the demand for a separate Darjeeling first cropped up in 1907, the Gorkhaland movement for a separate state was vigorous in the 1980s. Led by Subhash Ghising of the militant Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), the mantle of leadership fell on the GJM in 2008.