GJM says it will directly deal with Centre on Gorkhaland

With its proposal for a separate state of Gorkhaland being rejected outright by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on Monday said it would now deal directly with the Centre.
GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri said Bhattacharjee’s proposal for greater autonomy, made in a meeting with the GJM in Kolkata three days back, was “meaningless and frustrating” because their movement was aimed at statehood and “nothing less”.
However, Giri said, “We will keep our doors open for talks to be initiated by the Left Front government.”
Meanwhile, GJM president Bimal Gurung yesterday demanded that the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council be dissolved immediately, arguing it had hindered the original demand for a state for the Gorkhas.
“However, as GJM was not officially empowered to dissolve the DGHC, a strategy to make it non-functional would be taken up in the central committee meeting of the party in a day or two.”
Giri said all casual workers of the hill body would be asked to quit their jobs. A few permanent employees on deputation would be asked to return to their original postings virtually leaving the DGHC defunct.
Gurung’s statement has set alarm bells ringing through the hills as 9,000 people were directly or indirectly employed in the DGHC. (The Hindu)

LF wants resolution to Darjeeling crisis

SILIGURI, May 26: The Left parties CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc have demanded an all-party meeting and the involvement of the Centre in the negotiation process for a viable solution to the Darjeeling tangle. “The issue is serious and the state government is not the exclusive authority to decide things. An all-party meeting should be convened and the Centre must be involved in the process without further delay,” the leaders of the LF constituents demanded. While the RSP is toying with the idea of reviving the Darjeeling ZP, all the three parties favoured a Constitutional amendment for a permanent solution. Welcoming the recent negotiation between the chief minister and the GJMM leadership in Kolkata the CPI said the seriousness of the issue required immediate involvement of the Centre. “A Constitutional amendment may be necessary in the direction of evolving a solution within the framework of the state. The Centre’s involvement is required in the dialogue,” Mr Pijush Guha, a CPI state committee member said. “An all-party meeting should be convened and all the viewpoints should be heard. The Centre’s role is vital,” the FB Darjeeling district secretary Mr Smritish Bhattacharya said. Taking a distinct stand on the issue the RSP floated a proposal of reviving the Darjeeling ZP after repealing the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and the Siliguri mahakuma marishad. nSNS

BBBBS demands identification of Indian Nepalis before talks

Statesman News Service SILIGURI, May 26: The Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Samiti has demanded identification of the Indian Nepalis before negotiations between the state government and the representatives of the Darjeeling hill-based political outfits. “The Bengali populace of Siliguri would not give credence to any negotiation to untangle the Darjeeling crisis until the foreigners and the Indian Nepalis are differentiated,” Dr Mukunda Majumder, the president, BBBBS affirmed.“We suspect that some of the negotiators representing the hills are not from this country. Only the genuine Indian Nepalis are entitled to take part in the negotiations,” Dr Majumder said.He further said that 1950 should be declared the cut-off year for the identification of the Indian Nepalis and the antecedents of those having come into India after that year should be thoroughly looked into.“It is queer that there is yet no government instrumentation to distinguish the genuine citizens from the mere settlers. Taking advantage of government nonchalance, thousands of people from a neighboring country have been getting into India, settling down and then claim they were Indian citizens,” the BBBS leader affirmed.Terming the 1950 Indo-Nepal treaty a ‘bane’ for India and a ‘boon’ for Nepal, he demanded an immediate abrogation of the treaty. “It puzzles us why the Centre is not interested in reviewing the treaty, though the Nepali Maoist leader Prachanda has publicly advocated for its review from the end of Nepal’s new dispensation,” he said.

Anti- Gorkhaland body to meet CM over GJMM’s use of DGHC property

Statesman News ServiceSILIGURI, May 25: The controversy over the unabated use of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council tourist resort ‘Pintail Village’ in Siliguri by the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha for political purposes has been resented by a Siliguri based anti-Gorkhaland apolitical body. The body has decided to meet the chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on the issue.Named Janajagarana – the anti-Gorkhaland body, has worked out a delegation, which would meet the CM at the Writers’ Buildings in Kolkata. “We have approached the chief minister’s office for an appointment and once we avail that, the delegation would leave for the Writers’,” said Mr Ashok Hore, joint secretary of the newly formed body. Expressing resentment at the ‘indiscriminate’ use of the ‘Pintail Village’ by the GJMM for political purpose, the Janajagarana leader said: “Mr Bimal Gurung is holding Press conferences at the resort regularly as if it was his party office. Despite this open misuse of a public property, the administration is keeping mum.”Janajagarana, which surfaced recently to campaign against the Gorkhaland demand revived by the GJMM, has also condemned Mr Gurung’s call for dissolution of the DGHC. “He does not have any proven mandate to give such an undemocratic call and to risk the livelihood of thousands of individuals employed with the DGHC. In our meeting with the CM, we would also urge him to take a strong stand against such undemocratic gestures,” Mr Hore said.Meanwhile, the hill based political party, the All India Gorkha League too has criticised the GJMM for using the ‘Pintail Village’ for political purpose. “On one hand, Mr Bimal Gurung is calling for the dissolution of the DGHC, while on the other, his party is actively involved in the implementation of several development projects initiated by the Council in the hills. He is also using the ‘Pintail Village’ frequently. Are these not contradictory?” the AIGL president, Mr Madan Tamang questioned.However The DGHC Jalpaiguri divisional commissioner, Mr BL Meena did not have a say on the GJMM’s use of ‘Pintail Village’.

Morcha to spare workers

Darjeeling, May 26: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has sought to reassure the contractual employees of the DGHC that their interests would be safeguarded even if the party decides to stick to its demand for the immediate dissolution of the hill council.
Morcha president Bimal Gurung had yesterday sent shockwaves across the hills when he said the central committee of the party would be adopting a resolution demanding the council’s dissolution. The DGHC employs more than 8,000 workers on six-month contracts.
“We want the immediate dissolution of the DGHC because whenever someone demands Gorkhaland, the Bengal government speaks about upgrading the council and the talks end in a stalemate. We no longer want this council. However, we have the welfare of the contractual workers on the top of our mind,” Binay Tamang, the media and publicity secretary of the Morcha, told The Telegraph today.
At a recent meeting with the Morcha in Calcutta, Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had shot down the party’s statehood demand and instead asked it to focus on greater autonomy for the hill council.
Tamang, however, refused to elaborate on how the Morcha planned to safeguard the interests of the contractual workers.
“We will hold a central committee meeting soon. Things will be clear after that and we don’t want to spell out everything now,” he said.
While the chief minister is unlikely to agree to dissolve the council, giving new jobs to all the contractual workers, along with the permanent ones who are on deputation from the state government, would be difficult, said observers. (The Telegraph)