Plea to MK for hill leaders’ release

Morcha leaders with governor
 MK Narayanan in Darjeeling on Sunday
. Telegraph picture 

TT; VIVEK CHHETRIDarjeeling, Nov. 3: A delegation from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha called on the Bengal governor here today and sought his intervention to free arrested party leaders, the emergency meeting triggered by the deteriorating health of GTA executive sabha member Binay Tamang. Tamang who had launched an indefinite hunger strike on Wednesday to seek his release from jail was injected saline and medicines at the Jalpaiguri district hospital this afternoon. 

 He had been admitted to the hospital on Thursday and was refusing to take food, water and medicines. A six-member Morcha team, led by general secretary Roshan Giri, met governor M.K. Narayanan after the party’s realisation that the Mamata Banerjee government was doing little to free the arrested leaders even after the outfit had agreed to her demands like proper functioning of the GTA Sabha and a freeze on bandhs in the hills.

 The Morcha delegation had been granted permission to meet the governor tomorrow, but with Tamang’s condition worsening, the leaders hurriedly sought an appointment today. Giri said: “The governor had called us tomorrow but we decided to meet him today as Binay Tamang’s condition is deteriorating fast. This has become a serious issue. The state government, instead of working towards the release of Morcha supporters, is tagging Binay Tamang and other GTA Sabha members in one case after another.

 We believe all the cases against Morcha supporters are political.” Tamang had been arrested from Gangtok on August 22. He was charged in 18 cases and obtained bail in 15 of them. Tamang, who is also the assistant secretary of the Morcha, is yet to get bail in three cases. After the Morcha had renewed the movement for Gorkhaland towards the end of July, 11 GTA Sabha members, including Tamang, and nearly 2,000 party supporters were arrested. Most of the Morcha supporters were freed and 170-odd workers and 11 GTA members are still in jail. 

 The Morcha delegation claimed that Narayanan had assured the party of taking up the issue of imprisonment of leaders and workers with the chief minister. “We have been promised by the governor that he will take up the matter with the chief minister. He has also asked us to write to Mamata Banerjee on the matter and we will be doing that soon,” said Giri. Lt. Col. (retd) Ramesh Allay, the acting chief of the GTA, MLAs, Trilok Dewan and Rohit Sharma, and leaders Ramesh Lama and Dawa Lama were the other members of the delegation.

 Sources in the Morcha said even though the party understood that the judiciary would decide on the cases, it believed that the state government could help obtain bail for the GTA leaders. “The arrest of our leaders and supporters had put pressure on the party. Binay’s indefinite fast added to the Morcha’s woes and we need to do everything possible for the release of all Morcha activists,” said a Morcha source. The hill party’s desperation to seek the governor’s intervention also stems from Mamata’s adamant stand, despite the thaw in the relations between the Morcha and the state government.  

“The meeting with the chief minister in Darjeeling (two weeks ago) was very positive. We agreed to all her demands, right from the proper running of the GTA to the promise of calling no further shutdowns in the hills. In return, we were hoping that the state government would at least expedite the process of releasing our leaders and supporters,” said the source. 

 Morcha had already been irked by the state’s alleged failure to keep the promise of withdrawing cases registered against party workers during the statehood agitation till 2011. Doctors at the Jalpaiguri district hospital said they hoped that Binay Tamang’s condition would improve. “We expect his health condition to improve within 24 hours as he is taking the medication. We will try to provide him with some more fluids to stabilise his condition,” said a doctor. Tamang is in the intensive critical care unit of the hospital.