Anit Thapa started preparing the ground for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and told his party leaders and supporters not to get panicky just because other outfits in the hills had started chanting the Gorkhaland slogan.
Thapa, the president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), was addressing supporters at the “mass joining” programme held at Mirik on Friday.
“Do not get panicky just because some are talking about Gorkhaland. Do not get panicky just because some are holding dharnas (for Gorkhaland). We are on the right track,” said Thapa.
Just a few days ago, Bimal Gurung’s Gorkha Janmukti Morcha held a two-day dharna in Delhi pressing for a state of north Bengal.
Some weeks ago, a fledgling non-political organisation, Gorkhaland Activist Samuha (GAS), had held a dharna in Delhi and a march in the region pressing for the new state.
Gorkhaland is an emotional issue which finds resonance among the Gorkhas not only in the Darjeeling hills but also across the country.
Many believe the BGPM is trying to negate the statehood pitch during election time.
Thapa said his party had never lied on the issue of Gorkhaland.
“We never lied. We never said, 'give us vote and we will give Gorkhaland'. We are Gorkhas' sons, we need Gorkhaland, who doesn’t,” said Thapa.
The BGPM leader who won the polls to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Sabha and panchayats in the hills said “there is no one (in Delhi) to give Gorkhaland”.
“Maybe there will be a right time, right people in Delhi when we can demand Gorkhaland,” said Thapa.
The BGPM claimed that more than 2,000 people, including some elected members of panchayats who were Independents, had joined the party on Friday.
“Their support is against the 15 years of lies of the BJP and for our truthfulness,” said Thapa.
The BJP won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat for three consecutive terms from 2009. The BJP had promised a "permanent political solution" or PPS for the region. Even though the BJP has not defined the PPS, most in the hills perceive it as a state of Gorkhaland. The BJP had also promised tribal status to 11 hill communities but it is also yet to be delivered on.
The BGPM is an ally of the Trinamul Congress, which is against the division of Bengal.
Many observers in the hills believe the BGPM is expected to toe the Trinamul line.
Thapa, however, tried to sound non-committal on this issue at the moment.
“The Lok Sabha elections are coming. We will make a decision that will benefit the community and our people. We know how to fight for our community,” said Thapa.
The BGPM leader stressed that by making Gorkhaland an election issue, “right from
1986 (when Subash Ghisingh-led Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) started an agitation for statehood)”, people had only lost lives and houses which were burnt and many were turned into widows.
Thapa also said: “We had lost our panchayats, our School Service Commission (SSC). We are trying to get these things back.”