Statesman News Service

KALIMPONG, March 27. — Supporting the demands raised by GNLF chief Mr Subash Ghisingh, local GNLF MLA Mr Goulen Lepcha today said that residents of the Hills, including the Opposition, should back Mr Ghisingh in his fight for bringing around a change in the Hills.
“Elections should be a secondary issue right now, because the council has no constitutional guarantee,” Mr Lepcha said. “That is why we have been pressuring the Centre and the state government to upgrade the council, or arrange for an alternative to it, as demanded by our chief,” he said.
The legislator said that the Opposition front in the Hills should understand the vital issues placed by the GNLF and fully back those.
Notably, the GNLF had earlier sought a Union Territory or the Sixth Schedule status for the Darjeeling Hills. Mr Lepcha had recently pleaded for council upgradation in the state Assembly.
Asked about the postponement of the elections, Mr Lepcha said: “Election is a minor issue now. If our demands are met, we will be the first to press for the council elections. Members of the PDF should realise that being the residents of Darjeeling, they too would be the beneficiaries, if our demands are accepted.”
It may be recalled that of the three MLAs from the Hills, two (those representing Kurseong and Kalimpong) are from the GNLF, while the Darjeeling MLA is a member of the Opposition, the GNLF(C).
The GNLF, Kalimpong branch committee, yesterday celebrated Mr Ghisingh’s taking over as the sole caretaker of the council. “It is the responsibility of the people of the Hills to support our cause,” the branch president of the GNLF, Mr Dawa Pakhrin, said.
Significantly, the term of the council, which was on a one-year extension, ended yesterday.