MP advice: A step at a time for state - Jaswant says Delhi proposal is 75 % of ultimate goal achieved

Jaswant Singh believes that the interim authority for the Darjeeling hills proposed by the Centre and the state is more than half the battle won towards achieving statehood.

However, he skirted contentious issues like the territory of the proposed new body or the inclusion of other parties in the talks with the Centre and the state government.

Arriving in Bagdogra this afternoon, en route to Darjeeling, just a week before the next round of tripartite talks, the BJP MP from Darjeeling said: “An interim arrangement for the Darjeeling hills is, I believe, one step forward towards meeting the demand for a separate state. The journey to get that (statehood) is a stiff task and the setting up of an interim arrangement is achieving 75 per cent of the ultimate goal.”

Earlier, too, in what appeared to be a clear message to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Singh had said achieving statehood was a “step by step” process and each stage had to be conquered before reaching the summit.

Singh had told the Telegraph in May this year: “Nothing can be achieved at one go, get the (authority) in your hand, administer the area and then after that build on it.” Today also Singh gave the same advice, and once again underlined the need for patience for achieving that “ultimate goal”.

“Mount Everest cannot be scaled with a single jump,” Singh told the media at Bagdogra airport. “During the creation of a new state, there will be stops and pauses.”

The “stops and pauses” that Singh referred to is evident as several contentious issues regarding the set-up is yet to be thrashed out.

In the next round of tripartite talks at the official level scheduled for September 7, the participants are expected to work on issues like the territory of the proposed set-up, its tenure and its composition. Also to be thrashed out are issues like the jurisdiction of the district magistrate and the superintendent of police, and elections to the panchayats.

During his visit to Darjeeling, Singh is expected to discuss with the Morcha leadership the strategy to be adopted for the talks as well as the latest political situation in the hills.

Singh, however, appeared optimistic about the coming talks. “Even Sitaram Yechury, a senior CPM leader, during his recent visit to Darjeeling had said the present problems of the hills can be solved only through more autonomy and the people of the hills should welcome the interim set-up,” Singh said. “This reflects the position of the state government as well.”

Reacting to Singh’s views, Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said: “Negotiations are on, but there are many issues involved in setting up this interim arrangement.” Asked whether his visit would remain confined to the hills, Singh said this time he would also visit Siliguri since it was part of his constituency. “I will definitely visit Siliguri and interact with the people there.”

Source: The Telegraph