BJP and GJM TO finalise future course of Action

23 Jun 2009, 2058 hrs IST, Debasis Sarkar, Economic Times Bureau: SILIGURI: BJP is keen on expressing its continuing bond with its friend in West Bengal, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM). The party has not yet finalised its stand on the future course of movement by the GJM on its demand for a separate Gorkhaland state.

"We support GJM’s stand on Lalgarh. We appreciate imposition of ban on the Maoists in India. But, condemn the state government sponsored atrocities through the police on the poor innocent people in Lalgarh in the name of Maoists," said BJP national spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy. "At the same time, we have definite proof of other organizations being very friendly with the Maoists. We want specificaction against them too," said Mr Rudy. He, however, refused to name these "other organizations". It may be mentioned the GJM had expressed its solidarity with Chatradhar Mahato earlier. When asked about their stand on Mr Mahato now, while Mr Giri and Mr Rudy refused to come up with any comments, GJM spokesman Binoy Tamang said, "He is being accused. As long as these accusations were not conclusively proved, we would continue supporting his demands for water, health and education for the common people in Lalgarh areas." Mr Rudy arrived in Darjeeling on Tuesday as "representative" of MP Jaswant Singh. Expecting BJP to win at the national level in the last Lok Sabha elections, GJM supported Mr Singh and gifted him with a thumping win. But, with BJP sitting in the opposition in Delhi now, the GJM has realised the changed situation and has started gearing up for another phase of aggressive movement in addition to its continuing non- cooperation with the state government in the hills. If the movement begins in the form of an indefinite bandh, as has been learnt, the chaotic outcome of that would be labeled as sponsored by the BJP and would be hard for the BJP to digest at the national level. "We are meeting on Wednesday at Darjeeling to finalize the future course of action. Till then, no comments on the Darjeeling issue," said Mr Rudy. STRANGERS IN THEIR OWN LAND The city does open many opportunities to them, but they soon realise that it is not really the melting pot it claims to be. Mumbai 24 June: THE HINDUSTAN TIMES: Yam Thapa has been called “chinky” so many times that he has long given up telling people that his family is from Darjeeling, that his father served in the Indian army and that he has lived in Mumbai since he was four years old. After all these years, Thapa has learnt to ignore the name-calling, but he still cannot stomach the stereotyping and ignorance about India’s north east that often accompanies it. “To people in western India, anybody with small eyes and a tiny nose is Chinese or Japanese,” said the 21-year-old arts student. “‘Chinky’ is just one of the things people say when they tease us. But is it necessary to go into the details?” he said, suddenly sounding weary about having to talk about what is clearly an unpleasant reality he has learnt to live with. Thapa is part of a small community of people from north eastern states like Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram who come to Mumbai to pursue higher education or look for jobs because of the limited options back home. The city does open many opportunities to them, but they soon realise that it is not really the melting pot it claims to be. In this city, home to Governor S.C. Jamir, who is from Nagaland, their features attract comments and sometimes spell isolation. Mumbai is admittedly not as bad as Delhi, where many students from the north east confront appalling stereotypes that dub all the men as drug addicts and the women as “easy”. But in a city that fancies itself as a global financial powerhouse-in-the-making, the name-calling and social exclusion are shocking enough. An engineering student from Nagaland, who did not wish to be named for fear of being singled out, has been the target of comments about his looks so often that he, like Thapa, has accepted it as a normal part of life. “People just don’t know where we come from,” said the student. “To them, we could be from anywhere — Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, China.” Anywhere but India. He could just about live with the name-calling, but it is much harder to deal with the active discrimination and exclusion that he and his friends faced in the classroom. “Teachers sometimes did not like interacting with us,” he said. “Students used to make fun of the way we look. I don’t know why looks matter so much.” Any newcomer to the city takes time to settle in and integrate. But the comments and stereotyping make it harder for youngsters from the north east, whose shared experiences make them seek each other out. Local people’s attitudes towards them is responsible for a sense of alienation setting in, said BV Bhosale, professor of sociology at the University of Pune. MAOIST RAID CPM LEADER's HOUSE The Hindu,PURULIA (WB), June 24: CPI(Maoists) raided the house of a local CPM leader and set a country liquor shop on fire at Kurni village in Purulia district police said on Wednesday. Around 30-35 heavily armed Maoists barged into the house of Phatik Mondal, a local committee member of the CPM, at Kurni village under Balarampur police station late on Tuesday night. Not finding Mondal at his house, the Maoists took away the three two-wheelers parked there. They then went to a country liquor shop adjoining the house of Phatik Mondal and set it on fire, police said. The liquor shop was totally damaged in the fire. Lalgarh operation on go-slow mode Raktima Bose, The Hindu, 24 June Lalgarh: Paramilitary forces and the West Bengal police, who are engaging the Maoists and the Maoist-backed Police Santrosh Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee (PSBJC) in Lalgarh, seemed to be adopting a go-slow approach as their operation entered the sixth day on Tuesday. Most of the security forces remained inside the camps through the day. However, there was increased patrolling and checking of cars on the road leading to Lalgarh. Combing operation in nearby villages continued. At a top-level meeting held at the Lalgarh Police Station, top officials discussed the future strategy. Even as the meeting was on, at Chamitara, near here, a group of Maoists came and threatened the villagers with dire consequences if they did not attend a rally on Wednesday. Meanwhile, PSBJC supporters torched a local office of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at Dakshinshol, 40 km from here. Residents of Burishol village, 25 km from here, were seen fleeing their homes after suspected Maoists demanded money and threatened to kill them on Monday night. A senior police officer said that as there was a tip-off that some Maoists were fleeing in the guise of journalists, vehicles carrying reporters were also being checked. It was the second day of a 48-hour bandh called by Maoists in five States and the entire area roughly within a 20-km radius of Lalgarh wore a desolate look. Some officials of the Binpur I Block Development Office here were brought by a helicopter during the day from the Kalaikunda Air Force base for restoring work. The office was closed on April 8. Morcha stands by Lalgarh leader OUR CORRESPONDENT, THE TELEGRAPH Siliguri, June 23: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said it would continue to express its solidarity with Chhatradhar Mahato till he was proved guilty of having links with the Maoists. The Morcha had shared the dais with Chhatradhar, the leader of the People’s Committee against Police Atrocities in Lalgarh, about four months ago. Binay Tamang, the Morcha spokesperson, said: “It is only an allegation (that Chhatradhar has links with the Maoists) which is yet to be proved. As of now, we do not have any reservations against him or his committee and we will continue to express our solidarity with them in their protest against the state government’s apathy and police atrocities. However, if the allegation is proved in the future, the Morcha will instantly distance itself from the committee.” The Morcha clarification came close on the heels of the BJP welcoming the Centre’s decision to ban the Maoists and demanding similar restrictions against other outfits which have links with it. The hill party had fought the last elections with the BJP. At a joint media conference at Pintail Village in Dagapur near Siliguri, BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Pratap Rudy said: “We welcome the decision taken by the central government to ban the Maoists who have spread their tentacles in 13 states across the country and are into consistent violence.” “But, we will simultaneously demand that the Centre impose ban on some other organisations which have links with the Maoists. We have specific information and evidence that there are such organisations and the Centre knows it well,” Rudy said. As the BJP leader made the statement, Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri clarified his party’s stand on Chatradhar and his committee. “We admit that we have shared the dais (with him) for the larger interest of tribals but our party does not endorse violence,” Giri said. Rudy said he was here as a representative of Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh to meet the Morcha leadership. “We will hold a meeting in Darjeeling tomorrow where several issues including Gorkhaland will be discussed.” The Rajya Sabha MP blamed the CPM for the situation in Lalgarh. “The Left must clarify its stand on Maoists immediately,” he said. Delhi team on central project recce THE TELEGRAPH, OUR CORRESPONDENT: Darjeeling, June 23: A 10-member parliamentary committee on a tour of various states in India believes that a lot needs to be done till the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) succeeds in its mission. The central scheme is essentially aimed at universalising elementary education in the country. “There are problems related to skill and trained staff, low salaries of teachers, lack of proper infrastructure and the failure of the Shiksha to reach the villagers,” said Trilochan Singh, the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha Parliamentary Committee on Papers Laid on the Table. The committee oversees the use of funds allotted by the Centre for various projects like the SSA. Darjeeling has had its share of problems with the central education scheme. Almost Rs 5.5 crore given for the SSA had been embezzled. This amount was meant for the upgrade of various schools under the DGHC. Till date, the investigating agency — the CID which is looking after the case — has not been able to trace the funds. Asked about the team’s response to the scam, Singh, said they had not yet met the SSA authorities in Darjeeling. “We will sit with them and then include our findings in the report,” he said. The team has toured states like Meghalaya and Assam. “There is no dearth of funds as far as the SSA is concerned but still, the drop-outs continue to be high. The SSA has failed to bring students within the education mainstream,” said Singh on the basis of the findings in the two Northeast states. However, the team, which visited the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park today, was satisfied with the functioning of the zoo. “The role of the Centre (in the maintenance of this park) has come down over a period of time but we think it should inject more funds into the zoo,” said Singh. Cats caught Jalpaiguri: Foresters trapped two leopards, a male and a female, within a span of three hours in Zurantee garden in the Dooars around 8.30pm on Monday. Both the animals were released into Gorumara National Park. Defang mission for Cobra - Force told to clear path for police

PRONAB MONDAL, THE TELEGRAPH Lalgarh, June 23: Cobras with a brief to shoot the “enemy” at sight are being sent into the forests along the road from Goaltore to Pingboni and Kadashole to clear the way for police. It is from this area that the police were beaten back a few days ago and the main challenge now is to how to push forward with minimum casualties. Since the gunfight on Sunday, many companies of central and state police have arrived at Goaltore but not moved. To crush the resistance, 40 members of the CRPF’s Cobra force, which is trained in jungle warfare, will fan out in the forests and “neutralise” the Maoists. “We don’t want them to take anyone hostage,” an officer said. “That will be a drain on their resources. They’ve been instructed to shoot the enemy in the head so they don’t have to waste too many bullets.” Each Cobra will carry AK-47 rifles with a range of 800 metres, 2,000 rounds of amm-unition, grenades, a foldable sniper rifle with night-vision telescopic range tucked into their backpacks, night-vision binoculars and Swiss knives. As usual, they will not be in uniform but in casual clothes and trainers. “Inside the jungles, they will keep in touch with each other over wireless sets,” the officer said. “We will track their positions from Goaltore via GPS.” Although the members of the Cobra unit will keep in touch with each other inside the jungle, they will operate on their own. There will also not be any supply line to fall back on. But in case a Cobra comes across a big group of Maoists, he can call for reinforcements.“They are all trained in unarmed combat. They can fall back on that in case they run out of ammunition,” an offi- cer said. “But 2,000 rounds for one person is a lot of ammo and it should last them two weeks. If they wrap up their job before that, they can come back before.” For food, they will carry sattu (ground gram), Threptin biscuits and calcium and vitamin supplements. Each Cobra will set out with some water but will have to fend for themselves once the stock runs out. Intelligence inputs point to a major build-up of armed Maoists, especially at Pingboni and Kadashole.“They are determined to prevent the forces from proceeding to Ramgarh and believe they can put up the toughest resistance there,” an officer said. “That is why we need the Cobras to scour the jungles and flush out the Maoists.” The large force of state and central personnel that has as-sembled at Goaltore is meant to join another combined force which has set out from Bank-ura’s Sarenga and is now camping on the district’s border with West Midnapore. One of the main objectives of the Cobra mission is to flush out the guerrillas from the jungles so they are not able to detonate improvised explosive devices. “The IEDs planted along the route need to be detonated; they don’t explode under pressure,” said an officer. “Even if the advancing forces step on them, they won’t explode.” The Maoists today said their strategy was being overseen by Kishanji, the leader of their armed squad who is camping in Lalgarh. “He is personally monitoring our operations,” a Maoist said. “It won’t be easy for the police.” Nun identifies third accused The Hindu, Wednesday, Jun 24, 2009 Bhubaneswar: The Catholic nun allegedly raped during the 2008 riots in Orissa’s Kandhamal district on Tuesday identified a third person. A charge sheet is likely to be filed against all the three. Seventy people were produced at the second Test Identification Parade (TIP) held at the Choudwar jail in Cuttack, official sources said. The nun identified two persons during the first TIP on January 5. On August 25 last year the nun was forcibly taken to a room where she was allegedly raped. A bandh was being observed on that day in protest against the murder of Lakshmanananda Saraswathi and four of his associates on August 23. While one person actually raped her, two others helped the rapist, the official said. Second ID parade The second TIP was held almost six months after the first, following the arrest of seven more persons during the period. — PTI