GJM’s geographical divide: Dooars leaders quit

Senior leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) from the Dooars have resigned and dissolved their core committee because of alleged indifference towards the region by the party chief after the formation of the Gorkha Territorial Administration.

Padam Lama, president of the Dooars committee, and Ganesh Allay, secretary of the panel, have claimed that the people of the Dooars were forgotten by GJM president and GTA chief executive Bimal Gurung.

The move was initiated by Lama, who resigned on August 31. However, the GJM leaders apparently ignored his resignation. Moreover, Binay Tamang, GTA executive member and vice-president of GJM, reportedly said in a meeting that Lama's resignation would not affect the organisation in the Dooars.

However, other senior Dooars leaders, including Ganesh Alley and Prashant Thulung, assistant secretary of the Dooars committee, followed in Lama's footsteps. They also dissolved the committee today.

Anya Samuday, another Morcha committee consisting of non-Gorkhas, was dissolved today, with all 21 members of the committee quitting the organisation because of the party's "neglect" in the region.

That resentment was brewing among the Morcha's office-bearers in the plains had been hinted at by adivasi leader John Barla during his recent visit to Darjeeling. Barla had said at a programme that the Morcha leadership should remain in touch with cadres in the plains.

"The resentment in the Terai and Dooras was growing and I could sense it. Moreover, the GJM leaders of the Dooars felt deprived as the mouzas were not included in the GTA. We are deprived of all kinds of development projects too," Barla said.

Lama said, "We demanded that 398 mouzas of the Terai and Dooars be included in the GTA. But the Justice Shyamal Sen committee report to the government recommended only five mouzas be included in the GTA. After we expressed our displeasure, the state government set up a fact-finding committee which was supposed to submit a report in two months. Two months have passed, but no report has been submitted," he said.

... contd.

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