BGPM president vows no strikes in Darjeeling

DARJEELING, : Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to incite disturbances in the Darjeeling hills, Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) president Anit Thapa today asserted that BGPM would not allow any strikes to take place in the hills.

Thapa’s remarks come in the wake of contentious statements by various leaders following a proposal from BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar, who is also the Union Minister of State for Development of the Northeastern Region. Majumdar suggested including North Bengal in the Northeastern region, a move that has reignited demands from certain hill parties.

“The North Bengal issue will not benefit the Gorkhas in any way as they have their own issues which will continue to go ahead in a democratic way. However, there are some leaders here who are trying to disturb the peace in the hills with this issue,” Thapa stated in his video address.

Though the BGPM leader in his video statement did not name any party, political pundits feel Thapa’s comments were also aimed at the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) which had issued an ultimatum to the BJP to resolve the Gorkhas’ longstanding issues by April 5, 2025. GNLF chief Mann Ghisingh had announced this ultimatum on Saheed Diwas on July 27, urging people to display black flags. The GNLF is an ally of the BJP.

“The BJP lied to us for 15 years and are still trying to lie to us. The BJP leaders and MP are making demands to the BJP when they are the ones who must grant it. If they want to give something, then the question of making demands does not arise. After many conspiracies by them, the BJP has ruled the hills and in the future also they will not give anything,” Thapa stated, advising the Gorkhas to not expect anything from the BJP government, which he accused of viewing the people merely as vote banks.

Thapa emphasized that peace in the hills had been restored through hard work since 2017. He vowed that as long as BGPM was present, the hills would not witness any strikes.

“We will not allow anyone to call a bandh in the hills. We are seeing the situation every day. We also feel that the demands of our community should be taken forward, but it should be done in a democratic way. We are noticing that some are trying to create disturbances here along with holding bandhs and making more martyrs,” Thapa appealed, urging for peace and rejecting calls for strikes.

He accused some leaders of exploiting the issue for lack of other agendas and claimed the BJP was trying to create unrest in the hills. Thapa criticized the mixed messages from BJP leaders with one faction pushing for North Bengal and another, led by Suvendu Adhikari, opposing the division of Bengal.

“Do they think the Gorkhas are fools? We have to remain alert regarding this issue as this will only disturb the hills,” Thapa warned, referencing the call for a one-hour bandh by the Hamro Party on Saheed Diwas, which ultimately did not occur.

Thapa concluded by stating that true homage to martyrs should be paid peacefully, without invoking terror in their name. “It is these destructive leaderships and such negativity that are trying to ruin us. We must remain attentive to it,” he said.