The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha is looking at being “politically correct” at the first-ever meeting of the new Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Sabha meeting.

The BGPM, which took control of the GTA in July, will be holding the GTA Sabha meeting for the first time on September 19. The Sabha consists of 45 elected members and five nominated members.Sources said two major resolutions, one supporting the separate state of Gorkhaland and the other demanding tribal status to 11 Gorkha communities, would be passed by the Sabha.

In its election campaign, the BGPM had promised to pass a resolution on Gorkhaland at the first GTA Sabha meeting.“We have also decided to pass a resolution demanding tribal status to the 11 left out Gorkha communities and the same will be sent to both the state and the Centre,” said Amar Lama, who is the chief advisor to the GTA chief executive, Anit Thapa.

The Centre had on Wednesday decided to accord tribal status to some communities.

“Our decision to pass a resolution on the tribal status demand is not a knee-jerk reaction to the Centre’s decision to grant ST tag to other communities. We had this in mind for a long time,” said Lama.BGPM detractors, however, said the party was only trying to be politically correct.

“It is nothing but an attempt to be politically correct. The BGPM is an ally of the Trinamul Congress, which is against statehood and the Sabha’s resolution would have little impact,” said a hill leader in the opposition camp. The leader pointed out that the BGPM was not in a position to raise the statehood demand before the state government. “It is just about going through the motions. It is just an exercise to ensure that fingers are not raised at the BGPM for doing nothing for Gorkhaland,” the leader added.

In fact, the Sikkim Assembly had passed a resolution on Gorkhaland in 2011. There is a similar criticism of the Sabha’s decision to pass a resolution on the tribal status. The state government had already passed a resolution in support of the tribal status in 2016 and forwarded the same to the Centre.

“Another resolution by the GTA is again an attempt to play to the galleries,” said the opposition leader.

BGPM leader and GTA advisor, Amar Lama, too, has admitted that the GTA Sabha doesn’t have to pass a resolution when the state has done so but such a step is necessary to make the party’s stand clear.“Technically, when the state has provided it’s no objection and has recommended (to the Centre) the same, there is no compulsion that the GTA has to pass a resolution but since the BGPM is now in the GTA, we have to make our stand clear and hence pass a resolution,” said Lama.

Some supporters of the BGPM said the resolution would be a “record” and it was important for the GTA Sabha to make those stands clear.

Tea bonus talks fail

Negotiations on the annual bonus in the Darjeeling Tea industry fell through on Friday evening. CPM leader and former Rajya Sabha member Suraj Pathak said planters had offered the bonus of 8.33 per cent, along with 5 per cent ex-gratia. “All unions stood their ground with a demand for 20 per cent bonus,” said Pathak.