Ghisingh: Facing flak

Darjeeling, Sept. 1: A day after Subash Ghisingh reminded the Centre and the state government that he had not forgotten the Gorkhaland issue, the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists pointed out that the Gorkha National Liberation Front supremo had no “moral right” to demand a separate state after signing the DGHC accord.

Accusing Ghisingh of “mincing words”, CPRM spokesman D.S. Bomzon said the DGHC chairman had already exchanged Gorkhaland for the council.

“Dropping a demand means he has agreed not to revive it again. Now he cannot come out of the council,” said the leader of the largest Opposition party in the hills.

The immediate provocation for Ghisingh’s outburst was the Betrayal Day observed by the Opposition on August 22, the day on which DGHC accord was signed in 1988.

“If Ghisingh is sincere about Gorkhaland let him relinquish the DGHC and come out on the streets again,” said Bomzon.

CPRM, a breakaway party of the CPM, has been rooting for Gorkhaland along with other parties like the BJP, Congress (Hills), Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League and GNLF(C).

The Opposition spokesman wondered whether the man who had once “set the hills on fire” would be capable of doing it again.

“He simply has no credibility left in him,” said Bomzon.

He added that Ghisingh should explain why he has remained silent on the Gorkhaland issue when three new states were carved out in the recent years. He was referring to the new states of Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal.

Lashing out at Ghisingh, Bomzon said: “He started violence in the hills and survived on it. That is his style of politics and we have always condemned it. The GNLF can be held responsible for all the violence that has occurred in the hills till date.”

The All Gorkha Student’s Union also sat on a dharna today at the Kurseong Motor stand to press for its seven-point demand, including Gorkhaland.