ABGL ousted from rally venue again Morcha takes over dais as rivals leave - Section 144 in force, claims DM

Members of the Janmukti Asthai Karmachari Sangatan after taking over the Chowk Bazar venue of the ABGL meeting on Monday. Picture by Suman Tamang TT, Darjeeling, Sept. 7: The second time in a year, the ABGL was forced to cancel its public meeting in Darjeeling today despite the administrative permission as members of a frontal organisation of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha occupied the venue and held their own rally. Witnesses said while the supporters of the ABGL were ready to hold the meeting as early as 8.30am, Morcha supporters came an hour later and took down the ABGL flag at Chowk Bazar, handed it over to their members and asked them to vacate the venue. With the supporters of the Morcha outnumbering those of the ABGL, the people already on the dais had little option but to leave. However, unlike in the past when the ABGL leaders went away quietly, this time about 50-odd party supporters went to the Darjeeling Sadar police station and demonstrated against the ousting. On December 26, Tamang's party could not hold its scheduled meeting as hundreds of supporters of the Morcha's youth and women wings had held a rally at the same venue half an hour earlier. Police seemed helpless, as ever, and even though the demonstration took place for a couple of hours, the ABGL could not hold its meeting. Instead, the Janmukti Asthai Karmachari Sangatan went ahead with its rally at the same venue demanding regularisation of their jobs in the DGHC, well past 4pm. An angry Madan Tamang, the president of the ABGL, accused the state government of shielding the Morcha for its own gain. “I spoke to all senior police officials but they maintained they were helpless. The state government has allowed the DGHC to run for two years and now the Morcha and Writers’ Buildings are ready to settle for something, not unlike the present council. That is why the state government did not allow me to speak today,” the ABGL leader said at his office later. Tamang alleged that the Morcha had already “sold Gorkhaland” and said the people should not allow any party to accept any arrangement that is similar to the DGHC. Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha, said it was the “public” that had stopped the ABGL from holding the meeting. “The people do not want to hear their false propaganda and hence they stopped the meeting. The schedule of the meeting of the Asthai Karmachari had been fixed yesterday and on finding the dais vacant at Chowk Bazar, its members went ahead with the plan.” The bigger picture behind the confrontation between the Morcha and the ABGL is on Gorkhaland. While the ABGL feels the Morcha is insincere about its statehood demand, the Morcha believes that the ABGL and “its state agents” had started a misinformation campaign to derail the Gorkhaland movement. “Gorkhaland is coming from the Himalayas. It will be a reality soon,” Gurung had said yesterday, hinting that a separate state should be formed in the interest of national security, especially with unfriendly neighbours like China bordering the proposed statehood area. Tamang on his part had claimed that he would have “exposed the Morcha’s insincerity”. “I will use various mediums (like CDs, cassettes) to pass on my message to the people,” a determined Tamang said. Surendra Gupta, Darjeeling district magistrate, denied allegations that the administration was siding with the Morcha. “This is not true. Since there was a possibility of a confrontation between two sides, the administration decided to clamp Section 144 in the area.” However, no announcement of clamping the prohibitory orders was made at Chowk Bazar today. When told that a Morcha frontal organisation had gone ahead with the meeting till 4pm, Gupta, said: “We have taken cognisance of the violation of Section 144. The police will come up with a detailed report.” In another development, Pemba Tshering Ola, chairman, Darjeeling Municipality, and Dinesh Gurung, his deputy, today resigned as members of the board of administrators of the civic body. “In keeping with the party stand of non-cooperation with the Bengal government for the cause of Gorkhaland, we have resigned,” said Ola. Question on loyalty, party returns cash TT, Darjeeling, Sept. 7: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has returned Rs 5.8 lakh to the Hill Employees’ and Workers’ Trade Union which had earlier donated the amount to the party as its contribution to the Gorkhaland movement. Binay Tamang, the assistant secretary of the Morcha, said: “In December last year, the union had contributed Rs 5,84,161 for the Gorkhaland movement by collecting a day’s salary from all its members. We returned the amount to them this evening.” The union comprises employees of the state and central governments. Tamang said the Morcha has started believing that the union was “working for the state government” and was trying to derail the movement for Gorkhaland. “Amar Rai, the president of the union, has been giving statements which clearly suggest that he is trying to derail the Gorkhaland movement. This is why we had to take this step,” said Tamang. At the union’s Kurseong unit meeting on September 3, Rai had reportedly said his organisation would always remain independent. “We do not want to be caged by being affiliated to any political party and we have been maintaining this stand since the Gorkhaland agitation of 1986,” Rai had said while claiming that he was for Gorkhaland. The very next day, Morcha president Bimal Gurung said at a gathering of the Janmukti Karmachari Sangatan members that the two employees’ unions — the other being the Hill Employees Association — should unite under his party banner. Gurung had said all the unions should merge with the Morcha instead of criticising the hill party from “outside”. With the union not responding to Gurung’s statements, the Morcha today returned the cash. Morcha leaders handed over the money to union secretary Rajeeb Gazmer at the union office adjoining the district hospital in town. In July last year, the Morcha had tried to bring the two employee organisations together in a co-ordination committee with HEA secretary B.P. Chhetri as its coordinator. However, the coordination committee failed to function as a unit and is now virtually defunct. The union has been maintaining a stoic silence on the development and Rai could not be contacted even today. The union roughly has about 5,000 members. No note yet on DGHC, says Gurung SNS, SILIGURI/KURSEONG, 7 SEPT: The GJMM leadership flayed the Centre and the state government for backing out of the commitment made by them over the alternative administrative setup to replace the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. “It was agreed in the tripartite dialogue in New Delhi on 11 August that an interlocutor would be appointed and proposals regarding alternative setup would come from the state government by the end of August. Yet, we have not received any communication from the Centre and the state government on the matter till date,” complained the GJMM leaders. The GJMM president, Mr Bimal Gurung said in Darjeeling yesterday: “We have not received any confirmation on the scrapping of the discredited institution from the Centre in black and white till now. But it must go, or else, we might step up agitation before the next round of tripartite negotiations slated in Darjeeling on 21 December.” Expressing disappointment over the apathy of the Centre, the GJMM general secretary, Mr Roshan Giri today said that they were in the dark when the interlocutor as proposed by the Centre, would be appointed. Neither do we have any idea when the state government would send an alternative administrative setup proposal for our consideration. “We would, however, like to clarify that we would not get stuck this time in any mid- way arrangement, however attractively it is couched. We would under no circumstances deviate from the statehood demand,” Mr Giri averred. Resignation In line with the GJMM chief, Mr Bimal Gurung’s directive yesterday, the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the Darjeeling hills municipalities resigned from their respective posts today. Mr Gurung had announced yesterday that the chairmen and the vice-chairmen of the hill municipalities should resign from their respective posts to press the state government and the Centre on the Gorkhaland issue.