New political outfit Gorkhaland Sangram Party launched in Darjeeling

REZA PRADHAN

DARJEELING, : Gorkhaland Sangram Party (GSP), a new political outfit with the demand for a separate Gorkhaland State as its primary agenda, was launched here on Sunday.

The party was launched at Gorkha Dukha Niwarak Sammelan Hall and has evolved from Naya Party Nirman Samiti (NPNS), an organisation that had recently been active in efforts to bring together various factions supporting the statehood demand.

GSP president Sanjay Thulung said the party would launch a democratic agitation to remind the government of its promises to the Gorkha community.

 “We will launch a democratic agitation and try to remind the government of the promises they made for our community if they have forgotten about it. The agitation will be on the street but we will not repeat the mistakes made by leaders in the past. We will go ahead with the rights the Constitution has given us,” Thulung said.

He said Gorkhaland would remain the party's main agenda and claimed that people in the hills had been voting for the BJP since 2009 in the hope that it would pursue the statehood demand.

“We have fulfilled what the BJP wanted from us by making them victorious and now it is their turn to carry out their responsibilities of giving us statehood,” Thulung said, adding that the party was open to discussions with the government.

Thulung also referred to an earlier statement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah that a solution to the Darjeeling hills issue would be found within six months.

He said the period had ended in November and that the party would not wait indefinitely before launching its agitation.

The GSP president criticised the government's reference to a Permanent Political Solution (PPS), describing it as a “painkiller” that would provide temporary relief but ultimately fail to resolve the core issue.

He cited the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) as an example of an arrangement that, according to him, had provided temporary relief but had failed to address the demand for statehood.

“Temporary settlements would only prove harmful in the end,” Thulung said.

 Reacting to West Bengal Chief Minister's recent statement that the PPS would be within Bengal, Thulung said the demand for Gorkhaland was a matter concerning the country and its security.

“By saying Bengal will not be divided, he is speaking for Bengal but what we are asking is something for the country and its security. Moreover, in a democracy we can make demands,” he said.

 Thulung said the party had been formed “under compulsion” as no other political outfit had sincerely pursued the statehood demand.

The GSP would participate in future elections conducted by the Election Commission of India, he said, while maintaining that it would neither contest nor allow elections conducted by an administrative arrangement that it considers temporary.

The party also unveiled its flag at the launch.

Party leader Pradip Lohagun said the green colour on the flag symbolised land, future and life, while red represented sacrifice, struggle and firm determination.

The two crossed khukris depicted Gorkha courage and self-esteem, while the rising sun symbolised the beginning of a new era, he said.