Demand for Gorkhaland: Gurung meets Modi to resume talks on statehood

Bimal Gurung met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, and submitted a memorandum demanding formation of Gorkhaland.

By: Express News Service
Kolkata | March 20, 2015 12:31 AM IST

3 min read

In a bid to renew talks for a separate state of Gorkhaland, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) delegation led by party chief Bimal Gurung on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, and submitted a memorandum demanding formation of Gorkhaland.

The seven-member delegation, including Gurung, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri and senior leader and MLA Harka Bahadur Chettri, reminded him of his promise made in Siliguri during the Lok Sabha election campaign last year for creation of Gorkhaland. Modi had said, “Gorkha ka sapna, mera sapna hai (The dream of Gorkhaland is my dream)” last year and the BJP manifesto had assured of “sympathetically examining” the GJM’s demand for Gorkhaland.

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“We would also like to remind your good self that during your campaign meeting in Siliguri in 2014, you had stated that ‘Gorkha ka sapna mera sapna hai’. The statement had sent a wave of hope and encouragement among Gorkhas. We would also remind here that the BJP has in its national manifesto of 2009 and 2014 (please find copies attached) said that it will sympathetically examine and appropriately consider the long pending demands of the Gorkhas, the Adivasis and other people of Darjeeling district and Dooars region,” the memorandum stated.

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After a thirty-minute long meeting with Modi, Gurung said in a Facebook post: “ The meeting was positive and fruitful and we are hopeful that the Prime Minister of India will fulfill the dreams of the Gorkhas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also appreciated the work done by the GTA in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.”

The party has also mentioned in the memorandum that they have been an alliance of BJP for the past eight years and has always ensured the victory of the BJP candidate in Darjeeling since 2009. It further added that it supported BJP in states like Uttarakhand and Assam as well.

Gurung further stated that there was unrest among people as the GTA could not satisfy the aspirations of the people of Darjeeling and Gorkhas living in several corners of the country. “There is a strong feeling amongst the people of Darjeeling and surrounding areas that their aspirations have not been fulfilled while being a part of West Bengal. This sense of being deprived of social, educational and political empowerment can only be addressed by the creation of a separate state. Gorkhas are different culturally, ethnically and linguistically and find it difficult to identify with mainstream Bengal. Historically, Darjeeling was never a part of West Bengal,” the GJM leader said.