Gorkha Janmukti Morcha - Opposition of The Sixth Schedule

Opposition of The Sixth Schedule

GJM’s opposition of the Sixth Schedule and demand for Gorkhaland was supported by luminaries like Dr Mahendra P Lama, Vimal Khawas, and other parties as well, viz. the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM), the BJP, the Congress and the Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL). The BJP organized an all-party meet attended by ABGL, the CPRM, the Congress, the Gorkha Rashtriya Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the GJM and the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP), which adopted a resolution asking the state to drop the Sixth Schedule proposal and remove Ghisingh as caretaker administrator of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). The Hill parties did not want the Sixth Schedule as Clause 11 of the Sixth Schedule stated “this in principle Memorandum of Settlement is the full and final settlement of the Darjeeling Hill Areas issue and no further demands in this regard would be entertained”. GJM burnt copies of the 1988 Memorandum of Settlement which had categorically stated, “the GNLF agree to drop the demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland”, thereby reviving the century old demand of Gorkhaland.

The GNLF tried stalling the GJM through various means, and an FIR was also lodged against the party president Bimal Gurung for the attack on a former DGHC councilor K.B. Gurung, but anticipatory bail was granted to Bimal Gurung. GJM observed hunger strikes, indefinite strikes and prevented locally produced goods from reaching the rest of Bengal, as a protest against the imposition of the Sixth Schedule and for the removal of Subhash Ghisingh. A team was also deputed to New Delhi to apprise the national leaders about the general consensus of the people of the DGHC area because of which, Mr L.K. Advani refused to support Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya’s bid to push Darjeeling into Sixth Schedule. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s refusal of the sixth schedule status for DGHC pushed it to the Parliamentary Committee. The Parliamentary Committee in its findings suggested that “the Ministry of Home Affairs is required to make a fresh assessment of the ground realities all over again before proceeding with the Bills in the two Houses of Parliament”. The Sixth Schedule bill was thus put in the back burner. The only supporter of the Sixth Schedule, Subhash Ghisingh, was banned from entering the hills. Ghisingh was finally forced to resign on 10 March 2008 as DGHC caretaker.