Darjeeling BJP MLA sends letter to Narendra Modi written 'in blood' for permanent solution
Telegraph | 3 March 2024
Neeraj Zimba, the BJP MLA of Darjeeling, on Saturday sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi written "in my blood" for a permanent political solution for Darjeeling hills.
In his letter, GNLF leader Zimba urged Modi to fulfil the promise he made to the Gorkhas. Showing the letter to mediapersons before sending it, Zimba said: "It is written in my blood."
“The assurance you bestowed upon the Indian Gorkhas with the resounding pledge of ‘Gorkha ka Swapna, Mera Swapna', echoed in BJP’s Sankalpa Patra of 2009, 2014 and 2019, remains unfulfilled," the letter read.
Zimba's letter goes on: "The commitment to resolve the political issues of the Gorkhas by finding a Political Permanent Solution and granting Schedule Tribe status to the left out communities of the Gorkhas is yet to materialize. While justice has been served to our fellow brethren like the Kashmiris, Ladhakis, Mizos, Nagas and Bodos, the Gorkhas continue to languish in neglect."
Speaking to the media, the MLA said several communities in India got “justice", but not the Gorkhas.
“It is only the Gorkhas who didn’t get justice so far. We want the Centre to meet our longstanding demand within the parameters of the Indian constitution. It is evident that the BJP will form the government.... Modi saab (Narendra Modi) will become the Prime Minister again, and he will deliver,” Zimba told reporters.
The letter, sent on a day when the BJP leadership refrained from announcing the candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat which it has won thrice since 2009, is being seen as yet another attempt by the BJP ally GNLF to exert pressure on the Centre on a permanent solution for the hills.
“Time has come for you to deliver justice to the Indian Gorkhas. Their demands for fulfillment of the promise made are not mere pleas, but a testament to their unwavering faith in your leadership. As the saying goes, ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ and the Gorkhas cannot endure further delay,” reads Zimba's letter.
Terming the creation of GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) as a historic political blunder, Zimba said Delhi (the Centre) has to “correct” it.
“I have sent the letter with conviction. The BJP should understand Gorkhas have voted for them and want the party to act,” said Zimba.
In the hills, the BJP and its allies want a son of the soil as the Lok Sabha candidate. Since 2009, no BJP MP was from the hills.