Gorkha Janmukti Morcha asks West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to cancel territorial polls

Leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) have asked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to cancel the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) elections.

The general secretary of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), Roshan Giri, wrote a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee requesting her to cancel the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) elections. The letter was sent minutes after the West Bengal government announced on Friday that the GTA elections will be held on June 26.

Earlier, the president of GJM, Bimal Gurung had written a letter to CM Mamata Banerjee requesting her to put the GTA election on hold till the Memorandum of Proposal (MoP) submitted by the party to the government is implemented. The memorandum demanded the inclusion of 396 Gorkha majority mouzas in the GTA.

Bimal Gurung has been on an indefinite hunger strike since Wednesday to protest against the upcoming GTA elections.

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While the leader is in favour of GTA polls being held, he said it should not be forced until his party’s proposals are fulfilled. Presently, the BJP, GNLF and CPRM, along with other organisations, are against the holding of the GTA elections.

The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) is a semi-autonomous council for the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal. The GTA was formed in 2012 to replace the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, which was formed in 1988 and administered the Darjeeling hills for 23 years.