Kolkata: Amid the ongoing unrest in the Hills in West Bengal, the Centre on Tuesday clarified that there is no proposal to form any committee on Gorkhaland.
In a written reply to Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia's question in the Lower House of the Parliament, Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir categorically said, "There is no proposal to appoint a committee to look into the merits and demerits of the demands of Gorkhas, Advasis and others. The question does not arise."
He said, "The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) called for an indefinite strike in Darjeeling hills with effect from June 12, 2017 demanding separate state of Gorkhaland. Violence and damage to public property has been reported during the agitations. As per the VII Schedule to the Constitution of India, 'Public Order' and 'Police' are state subjects. The state government concerned is primarily responsible for maintenance of law and order...CAPFs battalions have been provided to the Government of West Bengal for maintenance of law and order in the Darjeeling Hill area," he added.
The statement issued by Ahir could anger the Morcha leaders who are adamant for a separate state. The Morcha leaders apparently had a tacit understanding with BJP, that their demand for a separate state would be met, and worked to ensure the victory of BJP's Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia in the last Lok Sabha election in 2014.
GJM leaders are unwilling to talk on this issue right now. They said that they will issue a press statement soon after discussing the matter with senior GJM leaders Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri.
"If required we will ask our MP to clear this confusion. We are with the BJP only because of Gorkhaland and our demand needs to be fulfilled," a GJM leader said.
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