Ajoy Edwards slams GTA functioning, warns of mass resignation
Darjeeling: Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Sabhasad Ajoy Edwards has written a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging a complete collapse of the GTA’s administrative structure and warning that opposition members are considering mass resignation.
Edwards claimed the Chief Minister’s recent letter to the Prime Minister which projected the GTA as a stable institution, was disconnected from ground realities in the Hills.
Edwards stated that the GTA is neither functional nor autonomous, describing it as a failed institution similar to the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC.)
He argued that essential provisions of the 2012 GTA Agreement remain unimplemented even after thirteen years, including the formulation of rules meant to ensure transparency and accountability.
According to him, this was not an administrative delay but a deliberate strategy to keep the body weak and easily controlled.
He alleged that the institution today runs on the whims of a single individual in Darjeeling and the state government in Kolkata.
Edwards referred to the suspension of the elections that were scheduled in 2017, stating that no democratic system was allowed to function for nearly five years.
Even after elections were eventually held, the mandatory requirement for the Sabha to meet every three months was ignored, with only three meetings conducted in the last three years.
The Sabhasad also raised allegations of rampant corruption, claiming GTA and municipal properties were being distributed for long-term periods without Sabha approval, proper records or consultation with elected representatives.
Addressing the ongoing debate over the Centre’s appointment of an interlocutor for the Gorkha issue, Edwards acknowledged that the timing may have political motivations but insisted that even a small possibility of sincere dialogue offers hope to the people.
He criticised attempts to block the process, arguing that the residents of the Hills deserve openness, dignity and political respect.
Edwards reiterated that the longstanding political aspiration of the people of the region has been separation from Bengal within a constitutional framework that safeguards identity and dignity. Decades of DGHC and GTA experiments, he said, have demonstrated that institutions controlled from Kolkata cannot deliver justice or autonomy.
He concluded by urging the Chief Minister to keep an open mind and allow dialogue with the Centre, emphasising that elected representatives must remain accountable to the people rather than political compulsions.
Ajoy Edwards party, earlier the Hamro Party, later named the Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF) has 6 Sabhasads in the GTA out of 45 and is considered the main Opposition party.
