Intense infighting is going on in GJM over the long-standing demand for inclusion of Terai and Dooars plains in Gorkhaland or the interim Darjeeling-Gorkha Hill Council.
At a time when the impasse over Darjeeling Hills in West Bengal is nearing an end, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), the principal political force spearheading the separate Gorkhaland movement, appears heading for a split.
Intense infighting is going on in GJM over the long-standing demand for inclusion of Terai and Dooars plains in Gorkhaland or the interim Darjeeling-Gorkha Hill Council.
In recent negotiations with the Union and West Bengal governments on the council, top GJM leaders, including president Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri, agreed to keep Terai and Dooars out.
However on Tuesday, Morcha’s student, youth and women’s wings staged protests decrying “attempts to exclude Terai and Dooars from the council ambit”.
They contended that by agreeing to keep the plains out, GJM was going back on its original demand for a separate Gorkhaland, including Terai and Dooars.
“When the question of the interim council first arose, the GJM leadership emphasised on Terai and Dooars. However, it later started negotiations without including the plains. We cannot agree,” a spokesman for GJM student wing Vidyarthi Morcha said.
He said they would discuss the issue with GJM leaders and explain that excluding the plains would send a wrong signal to the people of Darjeeling.
“As it is, agreeing on an interim council instead of a separate state is a major dilution of the movement. We are not ready for another compromise,” the spokesman said.
All India Gorkha League, whose leader Madan Tamang was assassinated allegedly by Morcha members is ready to take advantage of the rift.
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