Amitava Banerjee, HT, Darjeeling, June 16, 2012: A once bitten twice shy Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supremo Bimal Gurung is not willing to call off all the agitation programmes with the setting up of the 3 member Fact Verification Committee (FVC) by the state government. Mounting pressure on the government, Gurung made it clear that the agitation programmes will be held as per schedule except the resignation of the councillors of the four hill municipalities.
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GJM chief Bimal Gurung at Patleybash on the fringes
of Darjeeling town. Photo by Suman Baraily
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Gurung also stated that the GJM would not agree to Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) elections, if imposed.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) are on an agitation path demanding the scrapping of the retired Justice Shyamal Sen Committee recommendations. With the GJM demanding the inclusion of 396 mouzas of Terai and Dooars of the plains in the GTA, a 9 member committee had been constituted comprising of representatives from the Centre, State and the GJM. The committee headed by Justice Shyamal Sen had recently recommended the incorporation of 5 mouzas (3 from the Terai region of the Darjeeling district and 2 from the Dooars region of Jalpaiguri District.)
The GJM dubbing the recommendations as “humiliating and one-sided” demanded that the Chief Minister immediately scrap it. The Morcha further announced a number of agitation programmes including bandhs and resignation by the four GJM MLAs and even threatened to resurrect the Gorkhaland demand scrapping the GTA.
A GJM delegation met the Chief Minister in Kolkata on Saturday with this demand. The meeting managed to break the ice, with the State Government deciding to form three member FVC to study the various parameters that the Justice Sen committee had adopted. The GJM in the Kolkata meeting had argued that the parameters (compactness, homogeneity, contiguity and ground reality) that had decided the inclusion of the 5 mouzas were applicable for many other mouzas too. The FVC is to review this.
“As of now our agitation stands. We will only defer the resignation of the Councillors of the four his municipalities that was earlier slated for June 27. We will sit in a meeting with the GJM team after their return from Kolkata. We have to carefully scrutinize the Fact Verification Committee which comprises of three Government officials, who we feel will work on the behest of the State Government. We are weary of the functioning of the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri District Magistrates who were given the task of reviewing the ground realities in the Justice Sen committee. The report was one sided. We do not want a rerun” stated Bimal Gurung in Darjeeling.
The future agitation programme includes a 72 hour long bandh in the Darjeeling Hills, Terai and Dooars on July 2, 3 and 4th; 4 GJM MLAs (Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and Kalchini) would send in their resignations from the Darjeeling Chowrasta on 17 July.
Gurung anticipated that as the Government had not specified a time-bound report from the newly constituted review committee headed by Ragavendra Singh, the principal Secretary of the North Bengal Development Ministry, they would try to impose GTA elections in between. “To hold elections is the prerogative of the Government. We will however not accept the elections, if imposed” retorted Gurung.
However political observers feel that there is very little scope for the GJM to stay away from GTA elections. State Government sources state that very soon notification of the delimitation of the GTA area into 45 constituency will be published. With this the election process will ensue.
Sources further state that the GJM had initially pressed for a time bound report (within 6 months) by the FVC in the Kolkata meet. However the Government argued that 6 months would be too short a period for studying the ground realities.
“The GJM delegation had also pressed for a neutral person to head the review committee but the Government did not agree. The Government insisted that a Secretary of the State Government head the review committee” claimed Gurung.
The GJM climb down is a clear pointer of the issue to be resolved amicably in the near future. Observers feel that the Government could include a few more mouzas in the kitty ensuring a face saver for the GJM.
GJMM adamant on poll
SNS, DARJEELING, 16 JUNE: GJMM president Bimal Gurung made it categorically clear today that his party would not participate in the GTA election until it is satisfied that the proposed fact-verification committee works in conformity with the parameters outlined in the GTA agreement. He also said the party's agitation programme would stand, except for the proposed resignation of the chairmen of the Hill municipalities scheduled tomorrow, which has been postponed for the time being.
Taking exception to the move to form the fact verification committee, senior CPI-M leader Asok Bhattacharya said it was an affront to the credibility of Justice Shyamal Sen. Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad state president Birsa Tirkey said it amounted to lending roundabout credence to the GJMM’s unjustified demands for more mouzas from the plains.
GTA elections notification expected by month-end
SHIV SAHAY SINGH, TH, Kolkata, June 17: Even as the West Bengal government set up a fact verification committee in respect of the recommendations of the Justice Shyamal Sen Committee, it announced here on Saturday that the election schedule for the Gorkha Territorial Administration would be notified “immediately.”
These developments came after a meeting between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders at the State Secretariat.
State's Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh told reporters that the GJM representatives said during the meeting that some of the “factual information” on which the high-powered committee's report was based was not correct, so the government had decided to set up a fact verification committee.
Stating that the government would come out with the notification for the elections to the GTA by this month-end, Mr. Ghosh said that notification for delimitation of the areas that would go to elections would be out next week.
To a question whether the GJM team had agreed to participate in elections, he said: “During the meeting we had no such impression that they [GJM] have not agreed to the elections.”
He said that as per the terms of the tripartite GTA agreement, the first election to the proposed body would be held in areas under the erstwhile Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). So the GTA elections and the report of the committee could not be linked, he said.
Earlier while speaking to the press, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said the high-power committee's report was a humiliation to the people in the hills and its recommendations should be scrapped.
On being asked about the elections, Mr. Giri said the party representatives had not come to the State Secretariat to discuss elections to the GTA.
Asked whether the GJM would continue with its protests as announced initially after the report was made public last week, he said this would be decided after discussing this meeting's outcome with party president Bimal Gurung.
The panel headed by retired Justice Shyamal Sen has recommended that five mouzas in the Dooars Terai plains be added to the GTA. The recommendations irked the GJM which was demanding that at least 150 of the 396 mouzas in the region be added to the GTA.
Meanwhile, the government said in a press note that the fact verification committee would be headed by the Secretary, Department of North Bengal Development and would look into any representation on the factual aspects of the report of the high-powered committee.
GTA elections notification expected by month-end
SHIV SAHAY SINGH, TH, Kolkata, June 17: Even as the West Bengal government set up a fact verification committee in respect of the recommendations of the Justice Shyamal Sen Committee, it announced here on Saturday that the election schedule for the Gorkha Territorial Administration would be notified “immediately.”
These developments came after a meeting between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders at the State Secretariat.
State's Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh told reporters that the GJM representatives said during the meeting that some of the “factual information” on which the high-powered committee's report was based was not correct, so the government had decided to set up a fact verification committee.
Stating that the government would come out with the notification for the elections to the GTA by this month-end, Mr. Ghosh said that notification for delimitation of the areas that would go to elections would be out next week.
To a question whether the GJM team had agreed to participate in elections, he said: “During the meeting we had no such impression that they [GJM] have not agreed to the elections.”
He said that as per the terms of the tripartite GTA agreement, the first election to the proposed body would be held in areas under the erstwhile Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). So the GTA elections and the report of the committee could not be linked, he said.
Earlier while speaking to the press, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said the high-power committee's report was a humiliation to the people in the hills and its recommendations should be scrapped.
On being asked about the elections, Mr. Giri said the party representatives had not come to the State Secretariat to discuss elections to the GTA.
Asked whether the GJM would continue with its protests as announced initially after the report was made public last week, he said this would be decided after discussing this meeting's outcome with party president Bimal Gurung.
The panel headed by retired Justice Shyamal Sen has recommended that five mouzas in the Dooars Terai plains be added to the GTA. The recommendations irked the GJM which was demanding that at least 150 of the 396 mouzas in the region be added to the GTA.
Meanwhile, the government said in a press note that the fact verification committee would be headed by the Secretary, Department of North Bengal Development and would look into any representation on the factual aspects of the report of the high-powered committee.
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