GNLF to agitate for securing complete statehood for Gorkhaland

New Delhi, Mar 29 (UNI) The all-powerful Gurkhaland Movement Leader Subash Ghishing's Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) today announced the revival of its Gorkhaland statehood agitation after a lapse of nearly 20 years.

Announcing this decision here today, a close associate and a senior leder of GNLF Dawa Pakhrin told mediapersons, "from today onwards neither we will sleep nor we will allow any body to sleep in Kolkata and Delhi for the betrayal of trust of the Gorkhas." He said, "as we don't want the division of West Bengal, so we signed the 1988 tripartite Darjeeling accord along with the Centre and the West Bengal Government, allowing the entire Gorkhaland area coming under the Sixth Schedule Status.

However, neither the Centre nor the West Bengal Goverment submitted the necessary documents to initiate the matter ahead; as a result the region's economic growth could not take place what was anticipated earlier," he added.

Mr Pakhrin further said the question of divison of Bengal does not arise as that piece of land was never a part of Bengal. The land belongs to Sikkim, Bhutan and Dooars but anyhow it was transfered to West Bengal just after the division of the country.

He said the GNLF President has written a letter to the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh earlier on March 5 urging him to initiate the process of carving out a seperate state of Gorkhaland immediately as the Sixth Schedule Amendment Bill 2007 has become infructuous.

But till date, they have not received any communication in this regard from the Prime Minister's office, he added.

Mr Pakhrin choose this occasion to release the proposed map of the Gorkhaland State.

Responding to questions on what form they would launch their agitation, he said our agitation will totally be a democratic one and will strictly adhere to the principles of non-violence.

In response to another question, Mr Pakhrin said, "we guarantee the safety of lives and properties of all communities in our territory." UNI BKS PY PM1750