The Telegraph

Kalimpong, Feb. 8: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s revelation that the “secret document” it has sent to the Centre pertains to an interim arrangement has evoked strong reactions in the hills with the ABGL iterating that the so-called stopgap measure is only an alternative to the DGHC.

Citing the seven-point resolution adopted at the end of the third round of tripartite talks in October, ABGL president Madan Tamang said Point 2 of the document clearly mentioned that an alternative administration would be formed after repealing the DGHC.

“It is the same thing Subash Ghisingh (GNLF president) wanted to thrust on us. The only change is in the nomenclature. It (the new set-up) will be known as the Gorkha Tribal Autonomous Council,” he claimed. Calling on the people to foil the Morcha’s alleged design, Tamang warned it would be futile to protest once the task was accomplished.

The ABGL president said in the alternative council, the Gorkhaland Personnel would be converted into village police since the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) would not be applicable to Sixth Schedule areas. “The West Bengal government will then rule by proxy with the (help of) terror tactics of Bimal Gurung and his people,” he alleged. Tamang urged the people to make a success of the janta curfew called by his party tomorrow. “By staying indoors we must make it clear that we are not going to go for that sort of arrangement. Our demand is separation from Bengal.”

C.K. Pradhan, the president of the GNLF (C), too, said he had serious reservations about the interim arrangement. “An interim arrangement is a stopgap measure to run the administration once the decision to form a state is made. In this case, the government has taken no such decision. So where is the need to go for an interim arrangement?” he asked.

Another point, Pradhan said, was that the official position of the Morcha had all along been Gorkhaland or nothing. “They (Morcha) are now saying they will run the interim arrangement…. Gorkhaland has been a 103-year-old demand. Will they keep on talking for another 20 years?”

The Morcha said it would accept an “interim arrangement” only if it was strictly time-bound.

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