Morcha protest spills to hill offices

Darjeeling, Feb. 12: All government offices remained closed across the hills today, following a call by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for an indefinite shutdown.

Essential services, along with educational institutions, banks and the Food Corporation of India offices, have been left out of the strike’s purview.

Attendance at the offices including that of the DGHC was almost nil. The toy train service, too, was suspended.

The shutdown is part of the Morcha agitation demanding that the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs visit the hills.

The committee, which is currently scrutinising the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2007 to include the hills in the Sixth Schedule, was expected in Darjeeling on February 6. Since the visit has been cancelled, the Morcha believes that Ghisingh, along with the government, “conspired” to stop the committee from visiting the hills.

The Morcha is likely to call off the protest programme if a meeting with the Bengal government turns out to be fruitful tomorrow, sources said.

“But our stand is clear. We will not budge until the government assures us that Subash Ghisingh’s tenure as caretaker administrator of the council will not be extended further and that the standing committee will visit the hills,” said Binay Tamang, the press and publicity secretary of the Morcha.

“If the committee comes here, it will get a clear picture of the people’s opposition to the special status. Ghisingh along with the government conspired to hide the facts from the panel. Almost every one in the hills is against the status and we want the bill to be scraped,” Tamang added.

A seven-member Morcha delegation has already left for Calcutta to attend the meeting to be held at Writers’ Buildings. The team is being led by K.S. Ramudamu, vice-president of the party, and not Bimal Gurung, the Morcha president. The Bengal government will be represented by Amit Kiran Deb, the chief secretary, among others.

“Since this is not a political dialogue and the chief minister is not expected to be present, our party president (Bimal) decided against attending the meeting,” said Tamang.

This is the first time that the government has invited the four-month-old party for a dialogue. Sources said the state government would request the Morcha to stop its agitation, which includes indefinite hunger strike across the hills and the closure of all government offices.

In Kalimpong, the health of five of the 21 protesters on fast has deteriorated as they continued to refuse medical assistance.

“We will not budge. In fact, we are even willing to immolate ourselves to be heard,” said Desh Bhakata Subba, a protester.

Civic polls

Vice-chairman of the Darjeelimg Municipality and GNLF leader Bimal Gurung said today that the election to the post of the chairman of the civic body would be held on February 16.

Gurung has appealed to all parties to ensure that the polls are held on the scheduled date. The municipality has been without a chairman since the incumbent, B.B. Dewan, died on January 1.

The civic board was supposed to elect a new chairman on January 14, but could not because of the Morcha’s decision to close down all state and central government offices on that day as part of its agitation.