Bhandari welcomes Resolution in support of Gorkhaland

IMPLEMENT RESOLUTION IN LETTER AND SPIRIT, HE DEMANDS OF STATE GOVT
GANGTOK: The Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee has welcomed the Resolution [click here and here] passed by the Sikkim Legislative Assembly in support of the Gorkhaland demand yesterday. The Congress has stressed that the SDF Government now follow-up this Resolution in the right earnest.
The SPCC president, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, through a press release issued today, said, “The Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee welcomes passing of resolution by the ruling SDF Government. However, the SPCC demands that the SDF Government should implement its thus passed resolution in both letter and spirit.”

He also claimed that the Sikkim Sangram Parishad Government, headed by him, had, in the late Eighties, extended “whole hearted support” for the creation of a separate State for the people of “Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Doors and Siliguri upto Phensideva mainly on the ground that these areas were never under West Bengal”.
He explains, “In 1835 the then British India Government had taken over these areas on lease as lease lands for creation of Health Resorts. As such the Gorkhaland movement for separate State is a historic one which needs to be supported at all cost.”
“During the Gorkhaland movement under Subhash Ghising between 1980-87 the then Central Government had even prepared to grant a Union Territory status to Darjeeling and other areas falling under lease land. Under what compulsion the tripartite agreement entered into which unfortunately culminated in creation of Darjeeling Hill Council instead of granting Union Territory status,” he adds.
Mr. Bhandari further states, “The Central Government had been sympathetic towards the demand of the people for creating separate states as a result of which states like, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh, etc. came into being. What is the hassle or problem in granting similar separate State to Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Doors and Siliguri upto Phensideva?”