Gorkhaland issue: Chidambaram holds meeting with GJM

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday held a meeting with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on the demand for statehood to Gorkhaland and is understood to have deliberated on setting up of a regional authority for Gorkhas in Darjeeling.

“We had a detailed discussion on our demand with the Home Minister. The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and was very positive,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told reporters after an hour-long meeting.

Mr. Giri refused to divulge what transpired, but said the Central government should clear its stand on GJM’s demand.

Sources said the meeting deliberated on the possibility of setting up of the proposed Darjeeling Regional Authority comprising the districts of Darjeeling and adjoining areas but no decision has been taken.

However, it was not clear whether the interim authority would be set up before the West Bengal Assembly elections a few months away.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh was part of the delegation.

During the last tripartite political level talks, key issues, including territorial jurisdiction, were sorted out.

The Central and West Bengal governments have earlier worked on the subjects and departments which are expected to be handed over to the interim authority.

Sources said both the Central and West Bengal governments favoured limiting the proposed authority to just the hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong.

Since its inception in 2007, the GJM has been demanding a separate Gorkhaland State that includes the Siliguri sub-division of Darjeeling district in the plains and contiguous areas in neighbouring Jalpaiguri district.

Source: The Hindu

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

‘Sad about Advani’s silence, won’t return to BJP’

Former BJP member Jaswant Singh’s controversial book, Jinnah: India Partition Independence, was launched in Mumbai on Monday evening. Speaking on the occasion, he categorically ruled out his return to the party and expressed his disappointment with L K Advani’s silence on the issue.

“I am saddened that a leader of the eminence of Lal Krishna Advani has expressed his inability in the words he has used.” Singh has pointedly stated that he would not return to the BJP if they were to invite him back. “I’m sorry if this offends you, but I won’t go back.”

The book, only six weeks old, is already in its 20th reprint and Singh admits his pride at the turn of events. “Pride for an author has negative connotations, but I feel satisfied, yes,” Singh said.

Speaking on the Jinnah House controversy, Singh said, “Jinnah House belongs to his daughter, Dina. A house should not become a political plaything. There are other prominent leaders, whose names I will not mention, who have got their properties back that were earlier declared as evacuee properties.”

Singh revealed that he is currently working on two books. “One is a book on C Rajagopalachari and another is a compilation of my political diaries of the last many decades,” he said, adding, “The controversies were not of my making.”

While he’s categorical that he remains focused on his new constituency, Darjeeling, despite his expulsion from the party, he’s not clear on his son, Manvendra Singh’s stance in the BJP. “My son is in London on a scholarship; whether he chooses to remain in the BJP or distance himself from it, he will only decide when he returns three months later,” Singh avers.

Singh isn’t worried about his future in politics either. “I’m clear I want to work with Hindu-Muslim relations, like Jinnah did,” he says. “And that’s a lot of work to do.”

Indian Express

DARJEELING: Singh binds ‘martial’ Sikhs and Gorkhas

Darjeeling News (Darjeeling, April 12): Jaswant Singh today said the attacks on Sikhs in Delhi after Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984 were stoked “intentionally”, comparing the riots to a police lathicharge on a Gorkha ex-servicemen’s rally in Siliguri last year.

The BJP leader, who is the candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat and enjoys the support of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, was addressing a gathering of former soldiers at the Darjeeling Gymkhana Club.

Singh, who struck a chord with the ex-servicemen immediately with his comparison, scored another brownie when he appealed to the sense of izzat (respect) found in the “martial” races like the Sikhs and Gorkhas. He compared the death of Sikhs in uniforms in the riots “like raising a hand against the President of the country”. MORE...

Party consensus before Gorkhaland speak: Jaswant Singh

Darjeeling, April 10: Jaswant Singh today sounded a word of caution on the demand for Gorkhaland, saying that his party, the BJP, would “examine” it before making a firm commitment.

The people of the Darjeeling hills are riding high on the expectation that if Singh becomes an MP, and the BJP comes to power in Delhi, their demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland would turn into reality “in the near future”.

However, at a news conference here this afternoon, Singh, who has been fielded for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, said: “Gorkhaland as a demand has appeared on the BJP’s agenda only now. We cannot just jump into the pool. We will examine the issue as all responsible political parties should do and will do it with a sense of urgency.” MORE...

Jaswant arrives in Darjeeling to a rousing reception

: Petals were showered on and slogans of support raised for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader and Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat nominee Jaswant Singh who arrived here to a tumultuous welcome from around 2,000 Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) activists Tuesday.

Accompanied by his wife, Jaswant Singh flew in to Bagdogra airport near here and was received by senior GJM leaders, including its secretary Roshan Giri and Asha Gurung.

“Gorkhaland chahinchha, Gorkhaland chahinchha” (We want Gorkhaland, we want Gorkhaland), “BJP Zindabad, Jaswant Zindabad,” shouted the GJM supporters, as the BJP leader was presented a ‘khada’ - the traditional Nepali scarf. MORE...

Darjeeling: Jaswant Singh on a high in Darjeeling: says will solve all problems

Amid a rousing welcome, former external affairs minister and BJP heavyweight Jaswant Singh today arrived in Darjeeling from where his party has fielded him as the Lok Sabha candidate. An overwhelmed Singh reciprocated the gesture, telling people in the hills he would solve their problems.

Singh will file his nomination papers on April 9.

The BJP stalwart’s entry into the fray has set the hills on fire, with the party lining up its star campaigners like L K Advani, Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh, who are expected to come to campaign for him in the first phase. MORE...

Wary of Vasundhara, Jaswant Singh opts for Darjeeling

Why is the BJP’s Jaswant Singh, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to enter the Lok Sabha from Darjeeling and not from a constituency in his home State, Rajasthan?

Most party leaders simply shrugged their shoulders. Why not Darjeeling, some of them asked. However, a BJP leader well versed in the party affairs in the State said: “Mr. Jaswant Singh knows that if he were to contest in Rajasthan he would run the risk of [former Chief Minister] Vasundhara Raje personally ensuring his defeat.” MORE...