Anit Thapa, the chief executive of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), on Tuesday released a video message reaffirming that he would not
allow Darjeeling hills to observe bandhs.

“Recently, there were attempts to close Darjeeling hills on Martyrs’ Day. Martyrs’ Day has been observed since the days of Subash Ghisingh. On Martyrs’ Day, we do not close business or create hardship but we pay obeisance to people who have laid down their lives for our cause,” Thapa said.

“We should not get into the politics of closure, of burning government properties etc,” he said.

The Gorkhaland Martyrs’ Day is celebrated on July 27. On this day in 1986, 13 people were killed during a police firing in Kalimpong. The statehood agitation was being led by Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) leader Subash Ghisingh then.

On July 27 this year, Ajoy Edwards, president of the Hamro Party and an elected GTA Sabha member, had asked shops to stay closed to pay obeisance to the Gorkhaland martyrs.

Most of the hill shops did not close their shutters. However, shops along Nehru Road in Darjeeling had shut down for an hour from 12 to 1pm.

There are allegations that Thapa-controlled Darjeeling Municipality raided these premises and harassed the shopkeepers for shutting down their establishments that day. The charge has been denied by Darjeeling Municipality.

Thapa’s video message assumes significance against this backdrop.

“Thapa wants to send a message that he is against strike in the hills unlike
leaders like Edwards,” said an observer.

Kalimpong MLA Ruden Sada Lepcha had recently hinted that Edwards had met TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

“The MLA’s statement about Edwards meeting Abhishek and Thapa’s statement seems more directed at TMC leadership in Calcutta than the hill people,” said an observer.

BGPM supporters said a narrative was being set in the hills that the party did not enjoy the confidence of the state government and they could be replaced.

“This narrative of the Opposition has no merit. The present GTA is an elected body and not a nominated body that can be replaced by the state government,” said a BGPM supporter.

Edwards could not be contacted for a confirmation on whether he had met Abhishek recently.

Darjeeling hills had remained closed for 104 days at a stretch in 2017 when Bimal Gurung launched an agitation against the alleged imposition of the Bengali language as a third language in hill schools. The agitation, however, turned into a Gorkhaland state movement.

During that period, Gurung was on the run and Thapa and Binay Tamang, who were lieutenants of Gurung, rebelled against their leader for a no-strike Darjeeling hills.