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Gorkha
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the decades-old Gorkha issue will be resolved within six months if the BJP forms the government in West Bengal. He said no party other than the BJP could find a solution acceptable to the Gorkhas. Addressing an election rally at Kurseong in Darjeeling district, Shah said the BJP understands the concerns and aspirations of the Gorkhas and would work towards a settlement on their terms. "Within six months of the BJP forming the government in West Bengal, every Gorkha will have a smile on his face. We will find such a solution to the Gorkha issue that Gorkhas can live in peace," he said. The home minister said the problem had persisted for decades because successive governments had failed to sincerely address the aspirations of the people of the Darjeeling hills. "The Congress and the TMC have done injustice not only to Darjeeling but also to our patriotic Gorkha brothers," Shah alleged. Claiming that the BJP had repeatedly tried to reso
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday that once the BJP assumes power in West Bengal, it will prioritise resolving the Gorkha issue in Darjeeling and withdraw all cases registered against community leaders and workers for violent agitations in the past. Shah, who was unable to reach the upper reaches of Lebong in the Darjeeling hills on account of unfavourable weather conditions, addressed the gathering through a recorded video message. "I am deeply regretful of not being able to reach you today. But I promise you that I will meet you in person at the scheduled public meeting at Sukna in Kurseong on April 21, where I will discuss in detail the development plans we have for the people of Darjeeling," he said. "For now, I will say that once we form the government in Bengal, our priority would be to resolve the Gorkha issue as quickly as possible. We will withdraw all pending police cases against Gorkha leaders and workers after we come to power in the state," he added. The
The Gorkha community in Jammu held a protest against the resolution seeking the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's special status passed in the assembly, and burnt effigies of Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary. The protesters demanded a separate state for the Jammu region, saying it would allow them to have their own government that takes decisions benefitting them. Led by Jammu and Kashmir Gorkha Sabha president, Karuna Chatri, hundreds of Gorkhas, including women and children, took out a protest rally against the National Conference government and the "Kashmir-centric leadership" over the passage of the resolution. The resolution passed on Wednesday sought to restore J-K's special status that was earlier accorded to it in the now-revoked Article 370. Raising slogans against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Deputy CM Choudhary and NC president Farooq Abdullah, the protestors said it could "deny them citizenship rights". "NC governments (of the past) and Kashmir-centric
The recruitment of Gorkhas from Nepal to the Indian Army under the Agnipath scheme has been put on "pause", but the matter has not been closed, Nepal's Ambassador to India Shankar Prasad Sharma said on Monday. Talking to reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia here, Sharma also said presently no "serious discussion" is taking place on the issue between the two governments. "I don't think this is a closed subject. India has developed some kind of mechanism in Agnipath, and would like to use the same mechanism to recruit from Nepal. Nepal is saying something different. We would like to go for the older system. That is what it is," the Nepalese ambassador said. "It has not been closed but I have not seen any serious discussion going on between the two countries. So, I would say that it is in the pause stage," he said. He said the Nepal government has not taken a decision on the issue so far. "There is a strong debate in Nepal if we should continue sending people t