GJM rally on the streets of Darjeeling hills

Kalimpong, Feb. 12: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha took to the streets for a separate state for the first time today since the signing of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration agreement and a day after Mamata Banerjee’s visit to the hills.

The move, party leaders admitted, was part of a two-pronged strategy to force the government for an early implementation of the pact and to counter rivals who have been trying to use the delay to drum up support in their favour.

Rallies and public meetings were held across the hills by the frontal organisations of the Morcha, whose supporters shouted slogans for Gorkhaland.

The processions culminated in public meetings, where speakers spoke in favour of statehood. Although planned earlier, the rallies come a day after chief minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the Centre for the delay in implementing the GTA and promised the Morcha that she would discuss the matter with the Prime Minister.

Asked why the rallies were still being held despite the chief minister’s assurance, Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said: “The programmes announced will continue. We want speedy implementation of the GTA.”

The Morcha will hold similar rallies and public meetings all over the hills every Sunday in the weeks ahead.

Binay Tamang, the Morcha assistant secretary, said the GTA would not be a stumbling block to Gorkhaland and the party would continue to raise the demand for a separate state before and after its formation.

Tamang said a series of programmes would also be held in Mirik from February 24 to March 1 in favour of Gorkhaland.

Although Tamang denied the Mirik programme was an attempt to thwart the GNLF from campaigning for a Sixth Schedule status for the hills, many felt it was otherwise. “The GNLF has said it will hold a public meeting in Mirik on February 26 to drum up support for the Sixth Schedule. The Morcha’s Mirik-centric programmes are an obvious attempt to counter that,” said an observer.

Arjun Rai, a GNLF leader from Mirik, said his party was yet to decide on the public meeting.

“Nothing is firmed up. We are thinking of holding the meeting. I don’t want to react to other parties’ decisions but what is important is that we are in favour of Sixth Schedule. We will do all that is in our means to force the Centre to implement the tripartite pact granting Sixth Schedule status to the hills,” he said.

The Morcha has accused its rivals of trying to use the delay in the formation of GTA to their advantage.

Morcha president Bimal Gurung last week launched a scathing attack on Gorkhaland Task Force, targeting Chhatrey Subba in particular and accusing him of harbouring Maoists.

The ABGL, CPRM, GNLF(C), Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang and the Gorkha Rajya Nirman Morcha are members of the GTF.

“The Morcha obviously believes that the opposing voices are getting vocal by the day because of the delay in the implementation of GTA. They seem to have learnt the lesson from the GNLF, which lost ground partly because of the long delay in the implementation of the Sixth Schedule pact,” said an observer.

Gurung has also accused a section of the media of providing a platform to his opponents so that they can continue with their campaign against his party even though they do not enjoy any public support.

The local channel here has stopped airing news based programmes after Gurung’s allegation.

The Morcha denied that the party had anything to do with the programmes going off air. “The decision to stop telecasting the news is that of the cable operator,” said Tamang. The civil society has taken strong exception to the development.

“The news programmes must be allowed to resume. The local cable operator should not be allowed to feel insecure. This is the demand of the public,” said N.P. Dixit, the president of the Citizens’ Rights Forum, Kalimpong.

Source: The Telegraph

Morcha threatens to boycott Darjeeling hill panel - Gurung cry for mouzas and early GTA

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today threatened to withdraw all its four members from the territory committee if the Gorkha-dominated mouzas that it has demanded were not brought under the new hill administrative set-up.

Morcha president Bimal Gurung also expressed displeasure at the delay in the implementation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. One of the stumbling blocks to the early implementation of the GTA is that the territory panel is yet to submit its recommendations to the government.

The Morcha chief was speaking at a programme here to mark the first anniversary of the police firing that killed three party supporters at Sibchu.

“Our members will walk out from the HPC (high-powered committee) if it fails to include the mouzas demanded by us,” Gurung said.

In his address earlier, Morcha secretary Roshan Giri said the committee would meet in Calcutta on February 24 to hear the opinion of all political parties in the Dooars and Terai in the set-up. “The additional areas (to be included in the GTA) will be decided on the basis of contiguity, continuity and homogeneity. There shouldn’t be any difficulty in including the areas from the Dooars and Terai,” he said.

Apart from the 199 mouzas in the Terai and 196 from the Dooars, the Morcha has demanded the inclusion of three mouzas from the Rajganj block of Jalpaiguri district in the GTA.

Gurung’s walkout threat is being seen as a tactics to put pressure on the committee to submit its report earliest given that the Morcha has set a deadline of March 27 for the state government to implement the GTA agreement. The party has threatened to re-launch the Gorkhaland agitation, if the deadline is not met.

The Morcha has four members in the HPC which is headed by Justice Shyamal Sen. Other members are the district magistrates of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri, a representative of the state home department, the director of census (representing the Centre) and the administrator of the DGHC. The government had on January 27 extended the term of the 10-member HPC formed in July last year by six months, a few days after the Morcha set the March 27 deadline.

The Morcha president wondered why the HPC was not being able to submit its report till today. “The delay in the formation of the GTA is providing an opportunity to the (opposition) leaders in the hills to chirp,” he said. Morcha rivals have revved up their campaigns in recent times, clamouring for statehood and Sixth Schedule status.

In Calcutta, Justice Sen said he did not know what the Morcha was saying. He said Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri had met him recently and had accepted the government proposals.

“He told me that a Morcha delegation would meet me in Calcutta on February 24. We have had cordial talks and had placed several proposals before them. They have agreed to them and it has been recorded. I don’t know what they are saying. They have not said they will not meet me on February 24,” Justice Sen told The Telegraph.

In Sibchu, on the fringes of the Dooars , Gurung came down heavily on Chhatrey Subba, accusing the 71-year-old rebel Gorkha leader of trying to breach peace in the hills. He, however, clarified that when he talked about training camps and Maoists in his speech, the charges were not against all constituents of the Gorkhaland Task Force. The GTF is an anti-Morcha consortium of five outfits — the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang, CPRM, ABGL, Gorkha Rajya Nirman Morcha and the GNLF (C).

The GTF members had yesterday said Gurung would have to either retract his statements delivered on Monday or prove their involvement in conducting such camps.

“I mentioned the Task Force because Chhatrey (Subba) is part of it,” Gurung said. The Morcha chief had said the forests of Kalimpong were harbouring 15-20 Maoists. “No one should engineer violence. Remember, we too have GLP. We will pounce on any one (indulging in violence) and hand him over to the government,” he said. The GLP is a squad of lathi-wielding volunteers raised by the Morcha, apparently to control crowds at its meetings.

The Morcha president dared Subba to share his vision of Gorkhaland with the people. “I will assemble one lakh people in Kalimpong or anywhere to hear him,” he added.

Source: The Telegraph

Rivals in Darjeeling challenge Bimal Gurung on Maoist slur

The Opposition parties have challenged Bimal Gurung to provide concrete evidence on the existence of underground training camps in the hills or withdraw statements to that effect as “baseless” allegations could vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the region.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president had said here yesterday that his political opponents were conducting underground training camps and were hobnobbing with Maoists in Kalimpong.

He hinted that the camps were run by the Gorkhaland Task Force, an anti-Morcha forum comprising the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang, ABGL, CPRM, GNLF (C) and the Gorkha Rashtriya Nirman Morcha.

Munish Tamang, the GTF secretary, said in a press release that the “unfounded” statement of the Morcha only proved that its politics was based on lies and deceptions.

“The Gorkhas have seen through the doublespeak of the Morcha that still talks about the GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) as well as Gorkhaland in the same breath. The statement also shows that the party is now bereft of ideas and meaningful issues and is thus trying to divert public attention from its visible failures on all fronts.”

“The GTF challenges Shri Bimal Gurung to come out with concrete evidence to back his claims about the GTF receiving illegal underground training or else withdraw his statement and desist from making statements that vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the hills,” he said.

The GTF said Gurung’s claim about the training camps is “all the more laughable” as everybody knows “which party or organisation is capable of sparking violence” in the hills.

According to Tamang, the GTF is an alliance of well-known political and social organisations as well as prominent individuals who are committed to the creation of Gorkhaland.

“All organisations that are part of the Task Force have a long, unblemished track record of dedicated service to the Gorkha society. No partner in the GTF is on any record for involvement in random violence,” he said.

The GTF pooh-poohed Gurung’s plea that he was free to lead the movement for a separate state as it was not he but Morcha secretary Roshan Giri who had signed the GTA agreement.

“The Morcha secretary signed the agreement on behalf of the party and with the full consent of the president. If indeed, as the statement of the party president suggests, the secretary signed against the wishes of the party and the president, then the GJM should expel Roshan Giri from the party, make an unequivocal statement for Gorkhaland and join the GTF to unitedly fight for the creation of a separate state for India’s Gorkhas,” reads the GTF statement.

Former GNLF leader Chhatrey Subba, who was at the receiving end of Gurung’s verbal attack yesterday, also attacked the Morcha chief.

Subba accused Gurung of settling for the GTA by hoodwinking the people. “So many people have died; didn’t they all die for Gorkhaland? Why can’t he (Gurung) accept Gorkhaland when he enjoys so much support,” he said.

Subba said he was willing to lead the agitation for Gorkhaland if the people wanted him to. “If I get the support, I will definitely lead the Gorkhaland agitation. If I don’t get the support, I can’t do anything,” he said, adding that he was open to the idea of heading the movement under the banner of the Gorkhaland Liberation Organisation (GLO) or any other forum acceptable to the people.

The GLO was formed by Subba after he fell out with GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh.

Source: The Telegraph

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration delay spurs campaign race in Darjeeling hills

Darjeeling: The rivals of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha have geared up their revival activities as prospects of the government implementing the new administrative arrangement for the hills by March 27 seem dim.

The deadline was set by Morcha chief Bimal Gurung but with the territory issue yet to be sorted out, chances of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) coming into force by next month is almost impossible.

Under the circumstances, the GNLF has decided to hold a public meeting in Mirik on February 26 to garner support for the Sixth Schedule status for the hills. Party president Subash Ghisingh will be present at the meeting — to be his first public address after the Assembly elections. He had attended a public meeting before the elections.

The Gorkhaland Task Force, a conglomerate of five outfits opposed to the Morcha, has revved up a campaign for statehood. The GTF members — the ABGL, CPRM, GNLF(C), Gorkhaland Rashtriya Nirman Morcha and the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang — are currently meeting MPs and MLAs in the Northeast, seeking support for the formation of a separate state, an activity that has been bothering Morcha chief Bimal Gurung.

He had come down heavily on the GTF yesterday in Kalimpong, accusing its members of being in touch with the Maoists. He also said his rivals were opposing the GTA only for the sake of opposing it.

Arjun Rai, the convener of the GNLF’s Mirik unit, today said: “We have decided to hold a public meeting in Mirik on February 26 and our party president Subash Ghisingh is expected to be present. He will announce the party’s future course of action in support of the implementation of the Sixth Schedule status in the hills.”

Ghisingh, who had been hounded out of the hills by the Morcha in 2008, returned on April 8, 2011. The very next day, he headed for Mirik to attend an election meeting — the only public meeting he had addressed — to drum up support for the three party candidates.

Following clashes between Morcha and GNLF supporters at Sonada after the election results were announced, Ghisingh had quietly slipped out of the hills under the cover of darkness on May 16, 2011.

A section of GNLF supporters, however, feels that Ghisingh who now stays in Jalpaiguri may come to reside permanently in the hills when he comes up to address the public meeting.

On the other hand, in the GTF camp, a team met P.A. Sangma, the NCP leader and former Speaker of the Lok Sabha at his residence at Tura in Meghalaya yesterday.

Chhatrey Subba, the chief of the Gorkha Liberation Organisation, also appears to have plans to revive his political activities after nearly 10 years. Gurung has been wary of the 71-year-old Gorkha leader, who is known to be against any form of autonomy, even the GTA, and is a staunch supporter of Gorkhaland.

The Morcha has threatened to re-launch the agitation for statehood if the government fails to implement the GTA by March 27.

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said his party was not worried about the GNLF demand for the Sixth Schedule status for the hills.

He said governor M.K. Narayanan has assured the party of all possible help for the early implementation of the GTA. “The governor has promised to speak to the President during their scheduled meeting on February 15,” said Giri, who met Narayanan at the Darjeeling Raj Bhavan this evening. The GTA Bill is awaiting the President’s approval.

Sibchu meeting

The Morcha will hold a prayer meeting at Sibchu tomorrow after a 12-km run from Nagrakata, reports our Jalpaiguri correspondent. Party members will pay tribute to Morcha supporters “who laid down their lives” for Gorkhaland at the meeting.

The rebel faction of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad led by John Barla will also participate in the meeting.

The Jalpaiguri district administration has granted permission to the Morcha to hold the run. But police are unaware of the public meeting to be addressed by Gurung.

“The police will be deployed along NH31 from Chulsa to Nagrakata and we have granted them permission for the run. But we have no information about the public meeting. We have appealed to everyone to maintain peace,” said Arindam Sarkar, the subdivisional police officer of Malbazar.

Source: The Telegraph