After leaders of ‘One North East’, Conrad K. Sangma, Pradyot Bikram Deb Barma came together in one platform, regional parties from northeast are also showing interest to joined them. Recently, Meghalaya Chief Minister and National People’s Party (NPP) President Conrad K Sangma, TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Bikram Manikya, former BJP National Spokesperson and Nagaland Minister Mmhonlumo Kikon, and People’s Party Assam founder Daniel Langthasa, along with other eminent North Eastern leaders, signed a joint statement committing to the creation of a unified front. Now other regional political forces of Northeast are showing interest to join them to form a strong regional force which will raise their voices for the development of northeast region. Ajoy Edwards, founder president of Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front recently met Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K. Sangma and other leaders from northeast and shown his interest to join ‘One North East’. Ajay hails from Darjeeling and he is one prominent political leader from the area. “On the 14th of November. I was privileged to sit together in Shillong with three important young Tribal leaders of our time. Along with them I also met many young and committed leaders from Manipur, Karbi Anglong and Nagaland.
I was happy and deeply honoured that the Sangma brothers hosted us for dinner at their residence and opened their home and hearts to this important dialogue. The leaders I met are all young, dynamic and rightful leaders of their people. In every region our communities are searching for clean, courageous and competent leadership. Good leaders are not a luxury for our people, they are a necessity for our survival and dignity,” Ajoy Edwards wrote in his Facebook post. He said, “Our meeting was not about one party or one state. It was about one shared reality. From Ladakh to Manipur, from Kalimpong to the Dooars, from Kohima to the Garo Hills, from the Bodo areas to the Gorkha belt, Sikkimese from Jorethang and Lekshep. from Adivasi communities in the plains to the high mountain people of the north eastern region, our citizens feel the same thing. They feel neglected. They feel taken for granted. They feel like Pradyot always says “The tyranny of distance” Every single day,”. “When we speak up for our people, the response is often a heavy hand and not an open mind. Yet our demand is simple. It is justice within the Constitution, dignity within the Union, and a fair share of representation and resources for the regions that stand guard at the borders and feed the rest of the country with their land, water and labour,” Edwards wrote.
He added, “This is not about us versus them. It is not about one religion, one language or one tribe against another. It is about justice for our people. It is about Adivasis, about Ladakhis, about Nagas, about Manipuris, about Karbis, about Sikkimise, about Bodos, about Gorkhas, about every tribal and hill community whose voice grows weaker as the distance increases between their village and the corridors of power,”. “Together we agreed on one fundamental point. If we remain scattered and divided, each of us is only a drop in this vast ocean called India. If we come together on a common platform of rights, respect and representation, we become a wave that cannot be ignored in any Assembly or in the Parliament of India,” he said. He further wrote, “In the days ahead we will continue to work in the interest of our people and our respective regions, and I will reach out to many more leaders along this long arc from Ladakh to Manipur. Our effort will be to build a collective voice that speaks calmly but firmly for constitutional guarantees, protection of land and identity, fair political representation and genuine development for the tribal and hill areas of our country.This journey will be about justice and about giving our people the good leadership they deserve,”.