The GNLF has turned down the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration’s proposal to set up a memorial and statue of the late leader, Subash Ghisingh, which many believe is an outcome of the party’s stand against the hill body.

Mann Ghisingh, son of Subash and also the president of the GNLF (Gorkha National Liberation Front), has said he is not in favour of erecting a statue unless “justice” is delivered to Gorkhas.

In a letter dated December 12 and sent to GTA chief executive Anit Thapa, Mann said: “I would like to inform you that unless justice is delivered to Gorkhas, I am not in favour of erecting a statue (of Subash Ghisingh).”

The GTA had sought “permission” from the GNLF president to set up a statue and a memorial of Subash at his birthplace at Manju — the birthplace of Subash — near Mirik.

Subash Ghisingh. File picture

Mann informed Thapa that the GNLF had already made plans to set up Subash’s memorial at Manju. “This (setting up a memorial of the parents) is also a duty and responsibility of me being a son,” read the letter.

On Saturday, Darjeeling MLA and GNLF general secretary Neeraj Zimba had written to Thapa appreciating the GTA’s proposal.

“I place on record my deepest appreciation for the kind and noble gesture extended by the GTA in general and to you in particular by putting forward your proposal for the construction and establishment of a statue and a memorial in honor of our beloved Leader Atulya Subash Ghisingh,” wrote Zimba.

Sources in the GNLF believe many in the party are not on the same page with Zimba on the memorial of Subash.

“Many leaders did not want the party to accept the offer as the GNLF is against the very concept of the GTA and has not only termed it unconstitutional but also gone to court against the hill body,” said a source.

In 2000, the GNLF started demanding Sixth Schedule status for the Darjeeling hills to replace the then functional Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. The memorandum of settlement to bring the hills under the Sixth Scheduled of the Constitution as demanded by the GNLF was also signed by the central and Bengal governments.

In 2007, Bimal Gurung broke out of the GNLF, formed the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and raised the slogan for a separate state. However, the Morcha later settled for the GTA.

“Subash Ghisingh filed a case against the GTA stating that the body could not exist unless the phrase ‘Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council’ is removed from the Constitution through an amendment. Accepting the GTA’s proposal for the memorial and the statue would have been a major embarrassment for the GNLF,” said a source.

Ghisingh was born at Manju, near Mirik on June 22, 1936, and died on January 29, 2015.

Even though the demand for “a separate administrative unit” was being raised in Darjeeling from 1907, the statehood demand caught the attention after Subash formed the GNLF on April 5, 1980, and chose Gorkhaland as the name for the state that his party demanded.

Subash dominated hill politics from 1986 to 2007 and is credited with 22 literary works.

He is arguably one of the tallest politicians the Gorkha community has produced. A road and a community hall in Kurseong have been named after him.