Calcutta, Dec. 13: Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi today asked Bengal to introspect whether it had given to “the Eastern Himalaya” as much as it had derived from the “source of oxygen” and appealed to the Gorkha Janmukthi Morcha (GJM) to give up its agitation and join talks.

In a “departure-eve” message, Gandhi, whose tenure at the Bengal Raj Bhavan ends tomorrow, said: “Our stunningly beautiful parvatmahal has been going through a tense period. The Eastern Himalaya have been a source of oxygen for our state. We should ask ourselves if we have given to it as much as we have derived from it. We would do well to try to enquire as to why our Gorkha brothers and sisters feel as they do.”

But the governor asked the GJM leaders, too, to introspect. “They must ask themselves if in our democracy any public aspiration, howsoever constitutional, should be articulated by unconstitutional methods. Looking upon their fellow citizens in West Bengal as their compatriot brothers and sisters, they must put across their aspirations in a spirit of mutual trust and understanding. The cosmopolitan and broad-minded traditions of Darjeeling have been India’s pride. I am sure these traditions will remain unharmed.”

The appeal came on the eve of the launch of a four-day bandh in Darjeeling following the Centre’s announcement on initiating the process to grant Telangana statehood.

The governor urged the GJM to keep faith in the dialogue process and call off a “fast unto death” by 105 people in the hills.

“The tripartite talks opened by the governments offer the best road map and it is my earnest hope that they will lead to a satisfactory resolution. I urge those who are fasting for Gorkhaland to give up that form of agitation because the tripartite process is now on and must proceed in an atmosphere conducive to negotiation,” the governor said in the message.

The fourth round of tripartite talks is scheduled on December 21 in Darjeeling in the presence of the Centre-appointed interlocutor, Vijay Madan. Earlier tripartite meetings were held in Delhi. But the Morcha has turned sceptical about the talks after the Telangana promise.

Busy preparing for tomorrow’s bandh, the Morcha appeared to stonewall the appeal. “We have not received any written communication from the governor. We cannot react till then,” Binay Tamang, assistant secretary of the Morcha, said in Darjeeling.

The governor’s 12-page, 2,967-word message covered almost every aspect of life in Bengal, singing hosannas to the state and raising several issues close to his heart but not desisting from pointing out flaws.

Gandhi renewed a call to end political violence, stressing the need to bring Bengal out of the debris of bhangchur, bandhs and bomabaji. He denounced “Maoist” violence — the statement used inverted commas while twice referring to the group — saying it is not only “incompatible with a political democracy but is repugnant to it”.

“Unless all inter-party, inter-cadre or inter-supporter violence is halted, West Bengal will suffer irretrievable damage…. No party should countenance the use of unauthorised arms….

“It is a matter of great regret that distrust between different political entities and personalities, as also within institutions such as our universities, is disfiguring life in our state. We have to rectify this situation by changing our conditioned mindsets,” he said at a time campus violence is also flaring up.

He referred to the cycle of retribution in the state. “The choice before West Bengal should not be between the wrong-doing of one and the counter wrong-doing of another…. The choice has to be between chaos and civility, disorder and decorum.”

After condemning Maoist violence, he did bring up the issue of neglect as in the case of the Darjeeling hills. “A new chapter of ecologically intelligent and culturally sensitive progress needs to be opened for the long-neglected and exploited people of that region.”

The farewell letter followed a tea party that was attended by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Mamata Banerjee but separately (see Metro). The two political rivals did not come face to face, unlike last time during the Singur agitation when the governor set the stage for their first-ever meeting that eventually failed to break the land deadlock.

The governor fleetingly referred to the skirmishes, too. “My experience of life would have been one-sided had my tenure not received the dart of criticism from personalities in our public life. I shall assume that I have deserved such criticism. But I would like to say that I bear no resentment whatsoever about it,” he said. (The Telegraph)

FROM INDIAN EXPRESS

Gurung dismisses relevance of tripartite meeting, says ‘people losing patience, want immediate results’

“Our agitations will be peaceful. But if the law and order situation goes haywire in the Hills, the Centre will be responsible. If they can consider Telangana, why not Gorkhaland?” asked Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung on Sunday while hinting at the possibility of violence erupting in Darjeeling and surrounding areas if their demand for a separate state is not fulfilled.

Describing the four-day bandh in the Hills as their “last battle” to get a separate Gorkhaland, Gurung warned the Central government to consider the matter seriously.

Gurung said that everything will come to a standstill during the four-day strike from December 14 to December 17 in the Hills, including movement of government and police vehicles.

“The people of Darjeeling are losing patience and now they want results rather than meeting after meeting,” said the GJM chief.

Delivery of essential services like fire services, examinations, LPG gas, marriage, funeral, and media will be exempted from the bandh purview. Sources said that the superintendent of police and the district magistrate have requested GJM leaders to not stop their vehicles from plying in the area.

“We have considered their request. I have also asked all my activists to ensure that no tourist is harassed. We have already set up several assistance booths across the Hills to assist tourists. Those needing any help or wanting to lodge a complaint may consult our men in these centres,” Gurung said.

Dismissing the December 21 tripartite meeting on the Gorkhaland issue involving the GJM, West Bengal government and Centre, Gurung said, “The meeting has lost its relevance. There is no point in discussion. We want immediate results.”

Gurung expressed his displeasure at Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s recent statements against Gorkhaland.

“They are senior political leaders and have the right to speech. He (Pranab) is speaking politics and we are speaking about rights. I request Pranab babu to understand that it is in the Centre’s hand to maintain peace in the Hills. This land is ours and it does not belong to Mamata Banerjee,” said Gurung.

On Monday, 21 members each from the Janamukti Secondary Teachers’ Organisation, the Janamukti Primary Teachers’ Organisation and the Janamukti Karmchari Sangathan will launch an indefinite hunger strike in Darjeeling, Kurseong, Pintail village in Siliguri, Kalimpong, and Kalchini in the Dooars.

Students and ex-servicemen are expected to join the hunger strike. Also, from December 15 onwards, nearly 150 members of the Nari Morcha from Darjeeling-Dooars-Terai will be on hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and in Kolkata.

The GJM has already placed its concerns before UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, BJP president Rajnath Singh and other Central leaders in Delhi.

The four-day bandh in Darjeeling is expected to hamper the Tourism industry in addition to landing a major blow on tea and wool businesses.

FROM INDIAN EXPRESS

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung on Sunday hinted at the possibility of violence in Darjeeling and surrounding areas if the outfit’s demand for a separate state was not fulfilled.

He described the four-day bandh in the hills that starts from Monday as the “last battle” to get a separate Gorkhaland and stated that the people of Darjeeling are losing their patience. Everything will come to a standstill during the strike from December 14 to December 17, he warned, including movement of government and police vehicles.

Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, Gurung warned the Central government to consider the matter seriously. “Our agitations will be peaceful. But if the law and order situation goes haywire in the hills, the Central government will be responsible. If they can consider Telangana, why not Gorkhaland?” he said.

Gurung claimed the people of Darjeeling now wanted results rather than meetings after meetings, and dismissed the tripartite talks on the Gorkhaland issue among the GJM, West Bengal government and Centre on December 21. “The meeting has lost its relevance. There is no point in discussion. We want immediate results,” he said. While the four-day strike will be total, the GJM has decided to exempt vehicles of essential services like the fire brigade, LPG gas and media as well as examinations, weddings and funerals from the bandh purview.

FROM THE TELEGRAPH Jaigaon, Dec. 1: Leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad today penned an agreement that aims at reducing tensions between the supporters of both the parties in the Terai and Dooars area of north Bengal. Morcha spokesperson and central committee member Harka Bahadur Chhetri and adviser to the Parishad Kiron Kalindi inked the deal at the Agrasan Bhavan in Madarihat today. “We have agreed to reduce tensions between our supporters in the region and it has been decided that leaders of both the sides should meet regularly in order review the situation. Rumours that are spread and baseless allegations that are levelled are to be dealt with speed and it should be ensured that things do not go out of hand. We are here to live in harmony and there should be no room for misunderstandings between us,” Chhetri said after the meeting. On several occasions the supporters of the two outfits had come to blows especially with a section of tea garden workers joining the Morcha bandwagon in recent times. The latest violence was on November 9, when alleged Parishad supporters attacked the house of the vice-president of the Morcha’s Jaigaon branch, Indra Bahadur Chhetri in Bharnobari tea estate for campaigning for the party-backed candidate for the Kalchini byelections. The houses of two other Morcha supporters, Bharat Chhetri and Asit Thapa in the same garden, were also ransacked. Raju Bara, a Parishad leader and seven others were arrested by the Hasimara police for the ransacks, sparking protests by the Adivasi body. Incidentally, the Morcha had tasted its first success in electoral politics in the plains and not the hills with the victory of the Independent it had backed in Kalchini, which is part of the Dooars. “I remember chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee challenging me to win an election when I raised the issue of the (inclusion of the) Dooars (in Gorkhaland) at one of our meetings in Calcutta. He had snubbed us on Dooars and I had staged a walkout. The vic-tory in Kalchini is a slap in Bhattacharjee’s face,” Morcha president Bimal Gurung had said on the day the results were announced. “We will now say there is a mandate for Gorkhaland even in the Dooars and this stand will figure prominently in the next round of talks,” he had added. However, neither Gorkhaland nor the inclusion of the Dooars and the Terai in the state was discussed at today’s meeting. Rajesh Lakra, the secretary of the Dooars-Terai committee’s of the Parishad, said on November 15, the Morcha’s organising secretary for the region Samuel Gurung had written to the Adivasi outfit, asking for a meeting. “We held a meeting at Banarhat on Sunday to decide on a response and it was decided that we would sit today and sort out matters. We thought we would talk about bringing tensions down and the development of the region for common good,” Lakra said. The state committee secretary of the Parishad, Birsa Tirkey, however, said the issue of the demand for Gorkhaland was unimportant. “Today’s meeting was for peace and progress, but the demand for a separate state or Gorkhaland cannot be accepted at any cost,” he said.

DARJEELING: A path for solving the crisis in the Hills has been identified, according to interlocutor Lt-Gen (retd) Vijay Madan, who met Gorkha
Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leaders in Darjeeling on Thursday. The GJM leaders, on their part, assured the Centre and the state government that no disturbance would occur in the run-up to the December 21 tripartite meeting.
At the end of a 90-minute-long meeting at Mayfair Hotel, attended by GJM chief Bimal Gurung, general secretary Roshan Giri and party central committee leaders Amar Lama and L B Pariyar, Madan said talks on the demand for Gorkhaland have been fruitful.
“We are trying to find out steps for a way forward towards an acceptable solution. We are on some sort of a path now. An issue like this one can’t be solved overnight and hopefully we will have a roadmap by the time the tripartite meeting is held on December 21,” said Madan.
GJM leaders, too, expressed satisfaction with the talks. They would write to the Union home ministry, assuring it of peace in the Hills, they said. “We will maintain peace in the Hills and provide our cooperation in maintaining an environment conducive to talks,” said Gurung after the meeting. The possibility of including Siliguri on the proposed Gorkhaland map was also discussed at the meeting, said Giri.
Madan, on the other hand, said the Union government had no apprehension about disturbances in the Hills. “There is no fear of any trouble. It is the media that has been speculating about a possible flare-up. After this meeting, that should now be laid to rest,” said Madan.
On his role in the tripartite talks, the interlocutor said he would be a facilitator. “My job is to highlight the points on which the three sides have a consensus. It will also be my responsibility to help the parties reach an agreement on the contentious issues,” he added.

Madan visited the Dooars on Wednesday and met members of the local communities. “I met the tribals and Gorkhas. I wanted to survey their socio-economic conditions in person. The interaction was quite enlightening and I would include my observations in my report to the Union government.” Madan added that he was open to discussions with other parties as well, but none had approached him so far.

This is Madan’s second visit to the Hills in the last two months. He had visited Darjeeling on November 2 to meet GJM leaders. He will leave for Delhi on Friday.

Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar

 Preeti Mehra

 New Delhi, Nov. 8 The issues of rural India rarely find themselves vying for eyeballs in corporate drawing rooms. A few years ago, the mention of Panchayati Raj (PR) would evoke a yawn or a sneer from the country’s elite TV audience or at best, a routine capsule on it would be aired on Doordarshan. But today, even a hard core business channel such as Bloomberg UTV is beaming a talk show on the subject.

 And who else would fit the bill to anchor such a series but the former Panchayati Raj Minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar. Though currently out of office, his enthusiasm for the empowerment of local self-governments is still keeping him on his toes. Apart from anchoring the talk show, Aiyar has been travelling in districts in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan sensitising and mobilising people under the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan. He is also a frequent speaker on the subject in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the UAE and Singapore. “I wish the Government too made use of me,” he is frank enough to lament as he launches into his pet subject at his erudite best.

 Aiyar is thrilled that the concept of local self-governments is now reaching a desired audience through the TV show. “It has been the opening up of a new world to me by being allowed to come on the channel. And, I hope, I’ve opened a new world to corporate honchos who live, I’m afraid, in their India while most of their countrymen live in a really dreadful Bharat,” he says.

 On the show, he garners the opinions of personalities including Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Thomas Isaac, Finance Minister in the Kerala Government, Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of UIDAI,P. Sainath, journalist and elected representatives from zilla parishads and panchayats, at the same time arguing that the inclusive growth being promoted by the Government can never take place without inclusive governance and the keen involvement of the rural population.

 Inclusive growth

 “So, what is standing in the way?,” he asks and answers the question in the same breath, “….our administrators, political class, media, business world privilege accelerated growth over inclusive growth and the belief that the way to inclusive growth is through accelerated growth as this combined with tax reforms substantially increases government revenues… The fact of the matter is that outcomes have been derisive in relation to outlays because the same government that believes in inclusive governance prepares centrally sponsored schemes which are implemented entirely by the bureaucracy or their collaborators the NGOs, but without the deep and active involvement of the beneficiaries themselves.”

 The consequence, he points out, is that “we have over 100 mutually insulated silos delivering growth and welfare to the same set of beneficiaries. But, because of this, administrative costs go up hugely and convergence is not possible. That is the fundamental reason why Rajiv Gandhi, based on the single Planning Commission study of 1999, famously or infamously said that 85 paise in the rupee does not reach the poor.”

 Administration

 Aiyar goes on to explain that the current Planning Commission has come to a similar conclusion and puts the figure at 83 paise. “I think we can leave it to the experts to determine how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, but the fact of the matter is that 75 paise to 85 paise meant for welfare schemes is being absorbed by the administrative mechanism. I am not saying this is corruption, but just the system they have set up…” Instead, he advocates a systemic change in governance, where responsible administration replaces responsive governance.

Aiyar’s other concern that comes out loud and clear is that though anti-poverty central spending has increased from Rs 7,600 crore to Rs 1,25,000 crore between 1994 and now, India has retained more or less the same position on the Human Development Index. “The same people who are brushing under the carpet that our relative position on the HDI has not increased are the very same people who are boasting again in comparative terms that ours is the second highest rate of growth. So, obviously, the high GDP growth is not translating itself into commensurate high HDI growth, with the consequence India is prospering, but Indians are not,” he says.

Kolkata, Nov 11 (IANS) The victory of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM)-backed independent candidate in West Bengal’s Kalchini assembly seat could fan the separatist movement in the northern part of the state, say political leaders and analysts.
Wilson Champamari, supported by the GJM, won Tuesday from the Kalchini assembly constituency in north Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district. The Adivasi Vikas Parishad (AVP) nominee finished second, leaving the more established political parties far behind.

State Public Works Department (PWD) minister and senior Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader Kshiti Goswami said Champamari’s victory would consolidate the movement for Gorkhaland and trigger demands for a separate Gorkha state from other parts as well.

“This electoral result will consolidate GJM’s movement for Gorkhaland. Earlier, their demand to include some areas of the plains to their Gorkhaland state was not justified democratically. But now, they will be able to substantiate it saying locals have voted in support of their call.

“So now on they will say people in Dooars also want a separate Gorkhaland state,” Goswami told IANS.

The constituency comprises a large number of tea gardens in the foothills of the Darjeeling Himalayas known as the Dooars.
Added Congress leader Manas Bhuinya: “The Kalchini result is a matter of concern. One should not sit complacent just because the Congress has suffered a loss in Kalchini. Tomorrow the conflict between the hills and the plains may reach whole of Jalpaiguri and the Dooars region. It may endanger the integrity of the whole Bengal.”

“The government should take rectification measures immediately,” the Congress state legislative party leader said.

The GJM was, of course, upbeat.

“The electoral result is for a Gorkhaland state. Thousands of people living in Terai have shown their support in favour of the Gorkhaland call,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told IANS.

“It’ll help us to take the Gorkhaland movement one step forward.”

The GJM has been spearheading the Gorkhaland agitation and has demanded inclusion of the Dooars into its proposed state. The GJM’s demand brought it into conflict with the AVP and the two groups have clashed several times over the past one year.

Political analysts agreed that the electoral result was “very significant”.

“The Kalchini result is very significant. An independent candidate winning from the Dooars with support from the GJM outfit is something to be taken note of,” political scientist Sabyasachi Basu Roychowdhury said.

“In the near or distant future there may be pressure on the present geographical and political boundary of the state (West Bengal).

Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/by-poll-result-gives-a-fillip-to-gorkhaland-movement_100273019.html#ixzz0WYCbUUYl

GANGTOK, October 30 (Media Cell Sikkim): Sikkim unit of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh today morning submitted a representation on separate State Gorkhaland demand to Union Railways Minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamta Banerjee at Rangpo.Banerjee had arrived at Rangpo yesterday evening to participate in today’s foundation stone laying ceremony of the Rangpo-Sevoke rail project at Mining Ground, Rangpo.A four member team of Sikkim BGP led by president Dr Kamal Gurung met the Union Minister and submitted the memorandum along with documents related with the demand and the Indian Gorkhas prepared by BGP, the apex body of the 1.25 crore Indian Gorkhas. In response, Banerjee showed interest in the memorandum and assured to study the documents seriously. Dr. Gurung was accompanied by Sikkim BGP general secretary Somnath Pandey, BGP central committee member Prabin Khaling, treasurer Suman Pradhan and member Ganesh Chettri. It may be added here BGP has started a mission to sensitize Central leaders on the issue of Gorkhaland so as to the issue is deliberated on the national level. The mission had commenced from Sikkim with the State BGP unit submitting representations on Gorkhaland to visiting Central leaders. The unit has already submitted memorandums to Congress leader Luizinho Falerio and Gujurat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The “brown envelope”, which has been the talk of the hills for the past week, has finally started reaching Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders asking them to refrain from in any party activity.

The move, apparently aimed to cleanse the party of corruption, could also be one of the biggest tests for the Morcha. The outfit has sent notices, slipped inside brown envelopes, to at least one central committee member who has been with the Morcha since its inception on October 7, 2007.

“Brown envelope” was a term used by the British press to imply below-the-table transactions of slush money or information that politicians indulged in.

Even though Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri refused to divulge the names until the list was completed, sources said notices have been sent to Bimal Darjee, the convener of the party’s Tindharia-Sukna unit, who is also a central committee member. According to well-placed sources, notices have also gone to Sujan Rai and Saran Lama, both from Liza Hill unit, apart from Praveen Tuladhar of Kalimpong.

Darjee admitted that he has received the notice. “I got the letter on October 28 and I will obey the decision taken by the party president,” he said over the phone from Tindharia in Kurseong subdivision.

Morcha president Bimal Gurung, while addressing a public meeting in Darjeeling on October 25, had said he was aware of some leaders who had bought SUVs and were taking “pact-money” from contractors. The Morcha president had urged the people not to speak on behalf of these leaders and instead mark them out as those who were not sincere towards Gorkhaland.

Darjee, however, said he had always stood by his principles. “I have not bought cars or taken pact money (for contracts). Anyone can meet me for a clarification. I am not against the cause of Gorkhaland and its people either,” he said.

Darjee, however, said since no clarification was sought by the Morcha from him, he would not explain his stand to the party leadership on his own. “The letter states that I should no longer interfere with party activities in the Tindharia-Sukna area and also should not participate in the workings of the development committee of the Morcha,” said Darjee. Technically, Darjee has not been expelled from the party’s primary membership if one is to go by the content of the notice.

“In future, if Bimal Gurung thinks I should take up some party responsibilities, I will definitely shoulder them to the best of my abilities as I am always committed towards the cause of Gorkhaland,” said Darjee.

Analysts believe that the move to send the notices, virtually sidelining some of the leaders in the party, could be one of the biggest tests for the Morcha. “If the dissenters manage to influence a section in the Morcha, which has had intra-party squabblings in some areas, the party could face some troubled times,” said an analyst.

However, other observers believe that given the overwhelming support that the Morcha currently enjoys in the hills, the leaders against whom notices have been sent cannot be a major threat immediately. “In fact, the political careers of some of these leaders could be doomed,” another analyst said. (The Telegraph)

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today announced that it would lock all the block development offices across the hills from November 7 even as the interlocutor for the talks involving the Centre, the state government and the party arrived here.

“However, we have decided to exempt those sections which deal with registration and issuing of birth and death certificates at the BDO offices from the agitation,” said Binay Tamang, the assistant general secretary of the Morcha.

The move is expected to paralyse administrative and development works in rural areas. Bimal Gurung, the president of the Morcha, had announced one week back that all panchayat offices would be closed indefinitely from November 7 as part of its non-co-operation movement.

The party has also decided to close down all the liquor offshops in the hills from the same date and asked business establishments to use the word “Gorkhaland” on their signboards.

Lt Gen. (retd) Vijay Madan, who had been appointed the interlocutor to look into the demands of the Morcha, arrived in Darjeeling yesterday.

The decision to appoint the interlocutor had been agreed to at the third rounds of talks among the Central and state governments and the Morcha in Delhi on August 11. The Union home ministry had announced Madan’s appointment on October 23.

According to sources, Roshan Giri, general secretary of the Morcha, along with the party’s central committee members Amar Lama and Asha Gurung, met Madan in Darjeeling last evening. “It was basically a courtesy call,” said a Morcha source.

A meeting between Gurung and Madan has been fixed at a Darjeeling hotel at 3pm tomorrow. “The meeting has been confirmed,” admitted Tamang.

Gurung is expected to reach Darjeeling late this evening after his five-day tour of Sandakphu-Rimbick. According to sources, Madan will be leaving Darjeeling on November 3. His visit is seen as a move to prepare the groundwork for the next tripartite meeting scheduled to be held in Darjeeling on December 21.

Gurung had already announced that he would intensify the agitation and impose “home rule and declare “Gorkhaland”, if the December talks were not fruitful.

The closure of the BDO offices is likely to affect the Central government’s 100-day work programme and projects like construction of roads.

The BDO offices look into every aspect of development in rural areas like the implementation of the Indira Awaas Yojna, under which houses are built for people below poverty line. (The Telegraph)