Siliguri: Days after the release of its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing a denunciation by the Gorkha community in northern Bengal over the absence of any mention of the Gorkhaland issue in the official document.
On Monday, Gorkhaland Activist Samuha, a non-political organisation demanding a separate Gorkhaland state, issued an open letter to regional outfits asking them to not campaign for the BJP until the issue is acknowledged.
“The BJP has been promising to solve the Gorkhaland issue for the last 15 years, but this time they have not even mentioned it in the manifesto. This is appalling and we staged a protest in Darjeeling and have asked regional parties to not campaign for BJP,” Kishore Pradhan, convenor of Gorkhaland activist Samuha, told ThePrint.
The demand for a separate state for Gorkhas to be carved out of West Bengal has been simmering among groups living in the hills of Darjeeling for several decades now. Over the years, northern Bengal has witnessed multiple agitations by groups raising this demand.
In 2009, the BJP had in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls stated that if voted to power the party would “sympathetically examine and appropriately consider the long pending demands of the Gorkhas, the Adivasis and other people of Darjeeling and Dooars region.”
The mention of the demand in its manifesto bore fruit when BJP veteran Jaswant Singh won the Darjeeling seat by a margin of more than 2.53 lakh votes, with the support of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).
This was the first time the BJP won this seat, which since 1957 shifted from the Congress to the Communist Party of India (Marxist), barring some exceptions.
However, no concrete steps were taken by the BJP to realise the demand for Gorkhaland after coming to power at the Centre in 2014.
According to political analysts, the absence of the Gorkhaland issue from the BJP’s manifesto is driven by the fear that it may dent its prospects in southern Bengal.
“The BJP is looking at the bigger picture. Over the Gorkhaland issue, they will lose only one MP in Darjeeling. They are looking at the remaining Lok Sabha seats in Bengal and they don’t want to spoil those votes. They know Bengalis have a sentiment about Darjeeling, and the BJP currently is desperate to capture Bengal,” said political analyst Suman Bhattacharya.
In 2014 too, the BJP had in its manifesto skipped any mention of the Gorkhaland issue but outcry in the hills prompted it to make an addendum to the official document. The addendum had the same language as the 2009 manifesto but with the inclusion of other communities including Kamtapuri, Rajbongshi and other communities of northern Bengal with similar demands.
That was the first time the BJP mentioned Kamtapuri and Rajbongshi — both communities had been demanding a separate state to be carved out of North Bengal — in its manifesto for the general election.
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‘Talks ongoing at MHA’: BJP’s Darjeeling MP
Addressing a public meeting in Siliguri on 9 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that his party is “nearing a solution” to address the concerns of the Gorkha community.
“BJP is always sensitive towards the struggles and challenges faced by our Gorkha brothers and sisters. BJP has always worked to address their concerns. Now, we are nearing a solution for them… BJP will continue its efforts to fulfil your aspirations,” he said.
Asked why the demand remains unfulfilled, Pradhan, convenor of the Gorkhaland Activist Samuha, blamed regional outfits. “Regional groups should have met the leadership and discussed that their primary issue is Gorkhaland instead of hobnobbing with leaders and supporting them in the campaign,” he said.
With no headway on the Gorkhaland issue, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung said a little over a fortnight ago that this was the “last time” the community would extend its support to the BJP.
“We are giving last chance to BJP in the interest of democracy. There are several unresolved issues regarding dreams, aspirations and sentiments of Gorkhas and other ethnic groups of the hills and after prolonged talks with GJM members, we have decided to support BJP candidate Raju Bista, who is seeking re-election… for the last time,” he said.
However, following the exclusion of the Gorkhaland issue from the BJP’s manifesto, Gurung has been in talks with BJP MLA and Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, it is learnt.
General secretary of GJM, Roshan Giri, said they hoped the talks would lead to a resolution. “Suvendu Adhikari told us that Narendra Modi has come to some consensus and something will happen soon. We are hoping and waiting,” Giri told The Print.
At the BJP office in Siliguri, party workers said the party’s central leadership has a solution for the Gorkhas which will be announced soon.
This sentiment was echoed by BJP MP from Darjeeling Raju Bista who when asked about the issue said: “talks are ongoing at the Home Ministry”.
“When the talks are ongoing and a solution is on its way, why do we need to include that in the election manifesto? PM Modi has himself said that we are in the process of a solution for Gorkhas. I have participated thrice in meetings (called) by the Home Ministry over the issue,” he added.
On why the Gorkhaland issue was included in earlier manifestos, Bista said that the process to realise this demand had not been initiated until recently. “Now, the process has started and something will come up soon.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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