Morcha says hill bandh on

TT, July 22: A day after the government said everything, including Gorkhaland, could be discussed across the table, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha linked a withdrawal of the indefinite bandh with the transfer of north Bengal’s senior-most police officer and the release of alleged arsonists. “The right atmosphere was being created with the government bringing the talks forward and agreeing to discuss Gorkhaland at the tripartite meeting on August 11... but justice has been denied to us,” general secretary Roshan Giri said. “Although GNLF leader Rajen Mukhia was released today, 19 of our supporters are still in jail. The government has not done anything to transfer (north Bengal inspector-general) K.L. Tamta, the Darjeeling additional superintendent and the Kurseong subdivisional police officer. Our bandh will continue” He also complained about the Centre’s refusal to hold the talks at the political level. The Morcha supporters had been held after they attacked Mukhia’s house and clashed with GNLF activists. The indefinite bandh, which has paralysed the hills, was called to protest the arrest. After the state decided to deploy the paramilitary to clear the blockade of the national highway linking Sikkim with the rest of the country, the Morcha exempted it from the bandh yesterday. Urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya said the talks should be scrapped if the strike was not withdrawn. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj told the Lok Sabha today that the creation of Gorkhaland would help integrate the troubled region with the rest of India. The Morcha had supported the party Lok Sabha candidate from Darjeeling, Jaswant Singh, on the condition that his party would raise its demand in Parliament. Swaraj argued that smaller states like Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, created under the NDA’s rule, were easier to manage. Home minister P. Chidambaram said the government could not “apriori” take a decision on the statehood demand. A home ministry official said: “What he means is that he would like to find out the reality at the ground level, after talks with all parties concerned, before making any statement.” The Bengal government said allowing a discussion on Gorkhaland did not mean it had softened its stand. “The state home secretary had yesterday requested the Morcha to sit for a dialogue and said the party was free to bring up Gorkhaland and other issues,” chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti said. Morcha links stir withdrawal to cop transfer ‘Talks ok, but we have other demands’ Shops closed during the indefinite strike in Darjeeling on Wednesday. Picture by Suman Tamang TT, Darjeeling, July 22: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today admitted that the stand taken by the Central and state governments on the tripartite talks was encouraging but said the party would not withdraw its strike unless their demands like the transfer of senior police officers were met. Following, yesterday’s clarification from Bengal home secretary Ardhendu Sen that the tripartite talks would feature the Gorkhaland issue, it was largely perceived that the indefinite strike would be lifted as the Morcha had sounded upbeat about the developments. Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the party, said here this afternoon: “The right atmosphere was being created after the government pre-poned the talks and agreed to discuss the Gorkhaland issue at the tripartite meeting on August 11. As they want official level talks before a political dialogue, we believe that justice has been denied to us.” “While the GNLF leader, Rajen Mukhia, was released today, 19 of our supporters are still in jail. The government has not done anything to transfer K.L. Tamta, inspector-general, north Bengal, along with additional police superintendent of Darjeeling and the SDPO of Kurseong,” said Giri. GNLF and Morcha supporters had clashed at Panighatta near Siliguri on July 10 and the incident had sparked off the ongoing indefinite strike. Apart from the demand for tripartite talks, the Morcha had also asked for the transfer of these officers. The Morcha also highlighted an earlier case and reminded the state government that no action was taken against “erring policeman” involved in a lathi-charge against ex-servicmen who had brought out a rally in Siliguri on April 10, 2008. The state government had started a one-man inquiry commission to probe into the April 10 incident but even after a year, the findings have not yet been made public. With state urban minister Asok Bhattacharya demanding that the tripartite meeting should be scrapped if the strike is not withdrawn, observers believe that the Morcha’s decision to go ahead with the strike is also seen as a move to pass on the message that it will not bow to the CPM’s demand. For, Giri was clear that Morcha was not averse to dialogue. “We firmly believe that all issues can be solved only through a dialogue,” said Giri. Another school of thought also believes that the Morcha has decided to carry on with strike as senior BJP leaders are constantly raising the Gorkhaland demand in Parliament. “We thank Sushma Swaraj (deputy leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha) for raising the issue today. Our MP Jaswant Singh will also be raising the issue once again on July 24,” said Giri. The Morcha has also decided to bring out a rally in town tomorrow. “We will also celebrate the martyr’s day on July 27 in all the hill subdivision,” said Jyoti Rai, a central committee member of the Morcha. The trade union of the Morcha has also decided to hold rallies in every tea garden from tomorrow to press for land rights (patta) to the tea garden workers. ‘GNLF’ men shunted out of hills TT, Kalimpong, July 22: Three persons living in villages under Gorubathan block of the Kalimpong subdivision were forced to leave their homes today in the wake of the quit notice issued to them by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for allegedly hobnobbing with the GNLF. Bishnuraj Biswakarma, Krishna Rasaily and Sanu Tamang were accused of meeting former GNLF councillor from the area, K.N. Subba, in Siliguri. Subba has been living in Siliguri ever since he was exiled by the Morcha last year. While Biswakarma left his home in Mission Hill tea garden along with his entire family, Rasaily and Tamang were allowed to leave their families behind. Rasaily and Tamang have been declared persona non grata in the area for three months, during which the Morcha said it will monitor their activities. “If the two do not indulge in any anti-party activities during the three month period, they would be allowed to return to their villages and join our party,” said Binay Tamang, the assistant secretary of the Morcha. Tamang said while Biswakarma had not turned up to attend a hearing summoned by the Morcha last weekend, Rasaily and Tamang had showed up. “Both of them admitted that they had met Subba in Siliguri. However, they said the purpose of the meeting was to ask Subba to return the money that they had lent him,” said the Morcha assistant secretary. On the other hand, Biswakarma’s no-show, he said, was a confirmation of his guilt. Tamang said in the absence of the Biswakarmas, their house will be in the care of the Morcha. “The local unit of the Morcha will protect their property, because, unlike the GNLF, our party believes in Gandhian principles. Had these people indulged in similar anti-party activities during the GNLF time, their houses would have been burned down.” Apart from the trio, two women of the same area had also been summoned on suspicion that they kept links with the GNLF. “While we recovered GNLF posters, leaflets and CDs from the houses of the three men, nothing of that sort was found in the possession of the two women. However, we will be keeping a close watch on their activities,” he warned. BJP voice for state rises in Lok Sabha ( Note: FOR Synopsis on the proceeding of 22nd July in Lok Sabha with Sushma Swaraj's Statement (in Page no.6) CLICK HERE and for TEXT of her satement in Lok Sabha CLICK HERE - Adm) Sushma Swaraj TT, Bureau, July 22: Creating Gorkhaland will help integrate the troubled region with the rest of India, senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said in Lok Sabha today, the first time the party openly supported the demand for carving up Bengal on the floor of the Lower House of Parliament. Arguing that it was high time that Gorkhaland became a reality, Swaraj, the deputy leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, said the demand for statehood must not be treated on a par with secessionist movements. She made the comments in the Lok Sabha, while speaking on the demand for grants of the home ministry. “A group of people from there (Darjeeling hills) came to meet me. They said: ‘We fight for India in the army. We have India in our minds, but people still refer to us as Nepalis because of our features.’ It left me aghast,” she said. Swaraj argued that smaller states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, created under the NDA’s rule, are easier to manage. While these new states were born after Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh legislatures had approved their creation, Bengal has not consented to Gorkhaland. When this was pointed out to Swaraj later in the day, the BJP leader said: “That may be so. But Gorkhaland is an idea whose time has come.” Samajwadi Party chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, however, criticised Swaraj’s comments, arguing that the creation of smaller states had facilitated the spread of Naxalism. “Had Jharkhand been a part of Bihar, or Chattisgarh of Madhya Pradesh, the respective governments there would have crushed Naxalism by now. Instead, Naxalism is now prospering because of the BJP’s decision to divide states,” Yadav said. Swaraj is the second BJP leader to raise the Gorkhaland issue in Parliament. Rajiv Pratap Rudy had raised the issue in Rajya Sabha on July 13. [ COMMENTS .... This is the actual way forward. Augurs well - Mahendra P Lama., Vice Chancellor, Sikkim University ...Her speech has amply vindicated the stand so far taken by the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangha and also indicates that some of our National leaders like Sushma Swaraj are now convinced of the importance of Indian identity of Gorkhas in India and this is the beginning and we need to work further towards making others understand this. We are grateful to Ms. Swaraj for having raised the issue in the right perspective. The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangha had the privilege of presenting this perspective in our presentation during the debate on the Six schedule before the members of the Standing Committee of the Home Affairs and Mrs. Swaraj was the Chairperson of the said Standing Committee. She had categorically endorsed our views during our presentation which is recorded verbatim in the proceedings of the Home Ministry which was published later by the Bhartatiya Gorkha Parisangha in the larger public interest and I am sure many of you have already gone through the proceedings. Ms. Swaraj has quoted verbatim the same statement in her recent speech. The Bhartatiya Gorkha Parisangha has sent a thank you letter to Ms. Swaraj this morning along with the set of our publications -Rev. Dr. Enos Das Pradhan NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON & NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, BHARATIYA GORKHA PARISANGHA.] Govt denies change in stand Asok Mohan Chakrabarty at a meeting at the Circuit House in Siliguri on Wednesday. (Kundan Yolmo) TT, Siliguri, July 22: Bengal chief secretary said today allowing the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to raise the issue of Gorkhaland at the tripartite meeting in Delhi did not imply that the state government had softened its stand. “That the hill party will be allowed to raise the issue at the tripartite talks does not mean that the government has agreed to its demand. As I know, the state home secretary yesterday requested the Morcha to sit for a dialogue and said the party was free to bring up the topic of Gorkhaland and other issues,” said Asok Mohan Chakrabarty. When asked by journalists if the government had bowed down to the Morcha, Chakrabarty said: “At the tripartite talks, all the parties can express their viewpoints and opinions. So, the invitation given to the Morcha for a dialogue does not mean that the government has agreed to its demand to carve a separate state out of Bengal.” In Calcutta, state municipal affairs minister Asok Bhattacharya said at Writers’ Buildings that he had met the chief minister today and told him that tripartite talks should not be held unless the Morcha withdrew its strike. When told about Bhattacharya’s premise, the home secretary, Ardhendu Sen, said the talks were very much necessary. “The dialogue is needed and there is no need to delay it. We had requested the Morcha to withdraw the bandh and it assured us that a decision would be taken in a day or two,” Sen said in the evening when Morcha leaders were announcing in Darjeeling that the strike would continue. The chief secretary refused a reply on the deployment of paramilitary forces in the region. “As the Morcha leadership has exempted NH31A from its indefinite strike and informed us that it will take a decision on the withdrawal of its ongoing agitation in the hills in a couple of days, I am not going to say anything on the deployment of central forces,” said Chakrabarty. Rahul Shrivastava, the superintendent of police of Darjeeling, said six companies of paramilitary forces were coming to the district. “While four companies will be from CRPF, the other two will be from SSB. One company of the CRPF will only have women and they are expected to reach today. We will be informed about the arrival of the rest only 24 hours in advance.” GJMM responding positively: chief secy Statesman News Service, SILIGURI, 22 JULY: The chief secretary of West Bengal, Mr Ashok Mohan Chakraborty, has said that the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha has sought a few days’ time to decide on the issue of their ongoing indefinite bandh in the Darjeeling Hills. He also noted that the GJMM is already responding positively on the matter. The chief secretary was speaking to reporters after holding a review meeting on the Teesta Irrigation Project with the district magistrates of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, north and south Dinajpur at the Siliguri circuit house. Speaking on the prevailing Darjeeling Hill situation, the chief secretary said: “The state government sent a letter to the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha leadership urging it to withdraw the indefinite strike. The GJMM leadership has sought a few days to consider the matter. We are waiting for their decision.” Asked if the state government had any action plan if the GJMM leadership refused to withdraw the bandh, the chief secretary said: “I do not want any confusion on the matter and so would not elaborate on the subject. The GJMM leadership is already responding positively. It has already excluded the National Highway 31A, the only link road to Sikkim in keeping with the official message sent to it yesterday,” said Mr Chakraborty. Mr Chakraborty added that all issues pertaining to the Darjeeling hills would be discussed threadbare at the 11 August tripartite meeting in New Delhi. “It would be for the interest of all if the hill leaders’ response continues to remain positive and life returns to normal in the Darjeeling hills as early as possible,” he said. Speaking on the progress of the Teesta project, Mr Chakraborty said the work of the first Sub-stage of Stage-I of Phase-I would be completed by 2015. The project plan for the 2nd sub-stage would be finalised soon, he added. The project was delayed due to land acquisition problems and the chief secretary had asked the respective departments to submit reports on land related problems within a month. “A meeting on the issue would be held in the end of August in Kolkata by when we expect to receive reports from respective irrigation departments,” Mr Chakraborty said. The Teesta Irrigation Project was approved by the Planning Commission in the year 1975 at an estimated cost of Rs 69.72 crore. The latest estimated cost of the project, however, is Rs 2988.61 crore while the cumulative expenditure incurred on the project upto March, 2009 is Rs 1153.43 crore. Meanwhile, the Panighatta based GNLF leader Mr Rajen Mukhiya, who was arrested on 11 July in connection with a clash with the GJMM, was released on bail today. “The Darjeeling hills problem should be solved politically,” Mr Mukhiya claimed. The tripartite talks scheduled in August will be rendered futile if the GJMM continues the ongoing strike in the Hills, the state urban development minister and CPI-M MLA from Siliguri, Mr Asok Bhattacharya said in Kolkata. Mr Bhattacharya also said that he had informed the chief minister and the home secretary about his “personal opinion” on the issue. However, the minister skirted the issue of linking the talks with calling off the strike in the Hills. Incidentally the state government has already appealed to GJMM about calling off the strike. “The tripartite talks will be fruitful if only they call off this strike which has led to the total shutdown. They cannot threaten us at gun point. Enough is enough. The state government's patience should not be construed as weakness,” said Mr Bhattacharya. “Apart from the NH 31A leading to Sikkim the GJMM should also be convinced to keep the other roads free, particularly in case of Dooars which has been cut off as well,” he added. GJMM has agreed to the decision of keeping the national highway out of the limits of the strike. GJM Mulls ending Shutdown in Darjeeling Hills IANS,Siliguri July 22:The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), spearheading an agitation for a separate Gorkhaland state, is now considering withdrawal of the indefinite shutdown it has called in the Darjeeling Hills of West Bengal ahead of the tripartite meeting on the issue next month. "We're discussing within our party the issue of withdrawing the indefinite shutdown in the hills. We've already withdrawn the blockade from the National Highway (NH)-31A and all tea gardens are already kept out of the purview of the strike," said GJM general secretary Roshan Giri. The central and state governments will have a meeting with the pro-Gorkhaland parties Aug 11. "We want the discussion to be focussed on our Gorkhaland demand," he said. The GJM called an indefinite shutdown from July 13 in support of its demand. The shutdown has paralysed life in Darjeeling's three hill sub-divisions - Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong. West Bengal Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty said the state government had requested the GJM leadership to withdraw their strike. "The GJM leadership has informed us that they are now considering withdrawing the shutdown in the hills. They will let us know about their decision in a day or two," Chakraborty said. GJM Allows all Vehicles on NH 31A, Hints of Withdrawing Bandh UNI, Darjeeling, Jul 22 : With the West Bengal government hardening its stance against the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha(GJM), the outfit today allowed all vehicles on NH 31A and even hinted at withdrawing the indefinite bandh call which entered the tenth day. The GJM had earlier allowed only vehicles bearing Sikkim registration numbers on National Highway 31A--the state's lifeline. From today the road was opened to all vehicles. Going a step further GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri announced, ''We might withdraw the bandh if our demands are fulfilled. A meeting is also on to decide the tenure of this bandh.'' Incidentally, Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty visited Darjeeling yesterday and declared that if the bandh continued then necessary steps would soon be taken to end it. He said seven companies of CRPF would soon be deployed in the area. Although NH 55 falls under the restricted areas of the GJM bandh and was not yet opened, vehicles were found moving once the outfit allowed all vehicles on NH 31A. Meanwhile, in all ten cases against the GJM supporters had been filed with the Kalimpong and Gorubathan police stations for setting GNLF supporters' houses on fire, Additional SP Darjeeling Akhilesh Chaturvedi said. Shops and business establishments, educational institutions and government offices shut down yet again with only tea gardens allowed to remain open since the 10-hour relaxation on Monday, the SP added. Life in the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling district had been completely disrupted since July 13 after the GJM called the indefinite strike demanding statehood and immediate convention of tripartite talks on the issue, following which the Centre preponed the talks from August 24 to August 11. GOVT LETTER LIFTS GJM SPIRITS & SIKKIM BLOCKADE Kolkata,Jul 23, 2009: Even as the third round of tripartite talks seemed headed for failure, the state government’s move to accept some of the demands of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha appears to have infused a thaw in the impasse. Senior GJM leaders said they found the letter sent to them by state Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen to be “all right”, and have completely withdrawn the blockade on the NH-31A connecting Sikkim to Siliguri as a gesture of goodwill. GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said the government both at the state and Centre had committed themselves to considering the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state with all its implications, and had advanced the talks as well to August 11. “We feel this is a positive move by the government. However, we are yet to decide on the government’s request to hold talks at the secretarial level, as we have been insisting on political-level talks. We already held an emergency Central Committee meeting and decided to withdraw the blockade on the NH-31A. We will be holding a meeting in a day or two to decide on participation in talks at the secretarial level, and on calling off the ongoing strike in Darjeeling,” Giri told The Indian Express. At the time of calling for the strike, which entered the tenth day today, the GJM had demanded that the talks be on a single-point agenda of Gorkhaland, and be held at the political level involving Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee instead of the state chief secretary and Union home secretary as has been the norm in the previous two rounds of talks held last year. In a letter to the GJM from the state home secretary, the West Bengal government informed that it is willing to discuss the issue of a separate Gorkhaland state, but requested that the discussions should be at an official level for the present, Darjeeling district magistrate Surendra Gupta said. In Kolkata, Sen said the government has requested the GJM to withdraw the ongoing strike. “The letter said a lot of groundwork had to be done before the talks could be held at the political level. We are considering this. Of course, the talks are important and must be held,” Giri said. However, CPM MLA from Siliguri and state Minister for Urban Development Ashok Bhattacharya said today that in his opinion, talks being held while a bandh was in force were bound to fail. Till now, the Bengal government had refused to consider the possibility of Gorkhaland being carved out of the state, while state Congress president and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had stated recently that the Congress was not in favour of further division of Bengal.