Setting up a new party in the Darjeeling hills: GTA chief
The Hindu
Time for the option of practical and pragmatic politics for the people: Gorkhaland Territorial Administration’s Anit Thapa
In a significant development that may have a long-standing impact on the Darjeeling hills, Anit Thapa, chairperson of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), on Friday announced that he will be setting up a new party. Mr. Thapa, who has been heading the GTA, a regional autonomous body in the hills, said that the details of the party will be brought before the public in the first week of September. Mr. Thapa emerged in the political scene of the Darjeeling hills in 2017, when Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung had to flee the hills after an almost 100-day violent economic blockade from June to September 2017 over the demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland in the Darjeeling hills. After Mr. Gurung left the hills, Mr. Thapa and Binay Tamang, another GJM leader, entered in talks with the West Bengal government and normalcy gradually returned to hills. Both of them announced themselves as the leaders of the GTA and expelled Mr. Gurung from the party.The fear of being caught for traffic rule violation has indeed compelled many two-wheeler riders to wear helmets. But one cursory look at riders at any traffic junction in Bengaluru shows that more than half the riders have on their heads non-standard helmets, designed solely to evade the eye of law, with little concern for the safety of their own heads.
When Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, Beijing promised to retain the city’s Western-style civil liberties for 50 years. However, since the introduction of the 2020 law, Hong Kong authorities have severely limited free speech and assembly under the rubric of maintaining national security.