Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee sails into choppy waters
Darjeeling, September 11, 2017: After the vertical split in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM,) the Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee (GMCC) suffered a major jolt with the All India Gorkha League (AIGL) leaving its fold.
The GMCC, a conglomeration of 14 political and apolitical parties and organization was constituted in June this year with the objective of spearheading a collective movement for Gorkhaland. However, within a short span of time lack of coordination between the constituent parties along with shortcomings in the functioning and policies of the GMCC had come to the fore.
AIGL, the oldest political outfit of the Gorkhas in the country and a constituent of the GMCC on Monday announced its decision of leaving the GMCC. "We feel that the GMCC has failed to give direction to the greater cause of Gorkhaland. It has utterly failed and remains as a mere shadow of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. The very purpose of the GMCC is being defeated. The GJM even announce unilateral decisions which are then echoed by the GMCC" alleged Pratap Khati, AIGL General Secretary.
The
AIGL
has
also
alleged
"pick
and
choose
policy"
in
the
GMCC.
"When
there
is
any
GMCC
delegation
being
constituted,
the
GMCC
picks
and
chooses.
They
chose
and
discard
who
so
ever
they
like."
added
Khati.
Many
other
constituent
parties
have
echoed
similar
sentiments.
"We
are
as
good
as
out
of
the
GMCC.
The
GJM
exercises
total
hegemony
in
the
GMCC.
The
GJM
makes
unilateral
announcements
which
the
GMCC
echoes
like
a
puppet.
GMCC
never
behaved
liked
a
collective
organization.
If
the
GMCC
does
not
mend
its
way
and
stresses
on
collective
leadership
then
it
will
soon
become
redundant"
stated
Chettri.
JAP has not sent their representatives in the past two meetings of the GMCC. "It is very unfortunate that the AIGL has decided to leave. There are many shortcomings in the GMCC but AIGL could have ventilated their grievances from within the GMCC rather than leaving" stated Neeraj Zimba, Spokesperson, GNLF.
Recently the GMCC has been facing a lot of problems with disagreement between constituent parties and organizations.
"How can the AIGL still claim to be sincere towards Gorkhaland by leaving the GMCC. The need of the hour is unity and it is impossible for any single party to fulfill the Herculean task of Gorkhaland" stated Kalyan Dewan, Convenor, GMCC.
However Dewan admitted that the GMCC was plagued by a number of problems including the unilateral decisions of the GJM.
"As the agitation was being spearheaded by the GJM and as the GJM has the largest support base, it was decided that the GJM would lead. The constituents were made to understand this. However trouble started when GJM started taking unilateral decisions. However others did not quite approve of GJM's dominant role" explained Dewan.
He stated that despite his attempts at reconciling, the GMCC is not making much headway.
"Many of the constituents have started taking unilateral decisions. The purpose of the GMCC is steadily getting defeated. The problem is GMCC is a platform and nothing is binding for the constituent outfits." admitted Dewan.
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