Unity hint in plains

jhon barla

 TT; Siliguri, Aug. 29: A group of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad that had been expelled after John Barla’s exit has sent feelers to the official lobby for a patch-up.

The Parishad-backed Progressive Tea Workers’ Union (PTWU), formed in 2010, got divided when a section of leaders walked out after John Barla’s expulsion in November last year.

 Last Friday, Sukra Munda, a leader of the Barla faction and a former chairman of PTWU, “sent us a letter, requesting a meeting to discuss a proposal to join hands and run the union”, said Tezkumar Toppo, the vice-chairman of the PTWU and state Parishad leader. “We have discussed the proposal within our organisation and welcome the move.

 The meeting will be at Malbazar tomorrow,” Toppo said today. Munda, when asked about the letter, said the rebels had faced inconveniences in running a parallel faction of the PTWU. “When our intentions are similar, that is welfare of tea workers and the tribal population living in tea estates, there is no rationality in operating two parallel factions,” he said.

 “Whether it is us or the other group, both face problems in dealing with workers’ problems. On the other hand, tea companies, state labour officials and other administrative functionaries are often getting perplexed while inviting us for talks on workers’ issues. We want the convergence.” According to Parishad leaders, the dissidents have also perceived that the tribal vote bank would get divided in case they keep their differences alive.

 That would make it tough for the Parishad and the rebels to win seats in the panchayat elections. “We interpret the letter as a feeler for a patch-up. An agenda is required to start the talks and in this case, they have chosen the merging of the PTWU, which for both factions is important as the majority of our supporters live in the tea estates,” a Parishad leader said. 

 “We have forwarded the proposal (of the dissidents) to our state committee. They must be apprised of this development as these leaders had been expelled from the Parishad and PTWU,” said Rajesh Lakra, general secretary of Parishad’s Dooars Terai regional unit. “There might be talks to know more about the proposal but the final decision will be taken by the state committee,” said Lakra.