NO Blockade in NH 31A

PTI, Siliguri (WB), Dec 13 Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said it would make special arrangements for tourists and allow Sikkim-bound people uninterrupted passage through the NH-31A, as it prepares for the 96-hour shutdown in Darjeeling from tomorrow.

Benoy Tamang,press secretary of the GJM,told newsmen in Darjeeling that two special buses would take  tourists to  Pintal  village, near  here,  from Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong and back during the four days.

The GJM, which is spearheading the renewed agitation for a separate state after the Centre conceded to the Telangana demand, would set up special tourist assistance cells in all the four places. All essential services would also be kept out of the purview of the bandh.

Tamang said that party general secretary, Roshan Giri, who is camping in Delhi, would hold talks with the BJP leadership tomorrow on its Gorkhaland demand.

Sikkim Chief Minister  Pawan Kumar  Chamling had  yesterday  evaded  questions on Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) call for 96-hour shut down on the statehood issue.

Chamling had been vocal in the past on disruption of traffic on the sole highway  connecting Sikkim with the rest of the country due to political agitation in Darjeeling Hills.

GJM casts a shadow on tripartite talk

PTI, Kolkata, 13 Dec:Toughening its stance, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) today said its participation in the December 21 tripartite talks scheduled in Darjeeling on separate statehood issue was “uncertain” and would depend on the outcome of current talks with the Centre.

“The Morcha has lost faith in tripartite talks. Our participation in the talks at Darjeeling is very much uncertain. We will take a decision after we get some feedback from Delhi on our demand for Gorkhaland on the lines of Telangana,” the outfit’s central committee member Harkabahadur Chetri said over telephone from Kalimpong.

He said Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had told a a GJM delegation headed by party general secretary Roshan Giri in Delhi yesterday that he understood the aspirations of the people of Darjeeling.

“If he understands the aspirations of the people, he should understand it was creation for a separate state,” Chetri said. Calling for a political settlement, he said the tripartite meeting scheduled on December 21 was at administrative level. “An administrative settlement means within West Bengal, which was agreed to by Subhas bandh.
Tamang said that party general secretary, Roshan Giri, who is camping in Delhi, would hold talks with the BJP leadership tomorrow on its Gorkhaland demand.
Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling had yesterday evaded questions on Gorkha Janamukti Morcha&aposs (GJM) call for 96-hour shut down on the statehood issue.
Chamling had been vocal in the past on disruption of traffic on the sole highway connecting Sikkim with the rest of the country due to political agitation in Darjeeling Hills.hishing (The Gorkha National Liberation Front president) in the late eighties.”

Stating that the GJM was gearing up for a four-day bandh in the Hills from December 14, Chetri quoted GJM president Bimal Gurung as saying the talks were “useless”. “If we do not get a positive response, we will intensify our agitation. We do not want to live like slaves in West Bengal,” Chetri said. Meanwhile, GJM general secretary Giri said from Delhi, “Our president and the central committee will decide whether to participate in the tripartite talks or not.”

In Kolkata, West Bengal Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters that the tripartite meeting would be held on December 21 as scheduled. Asked about the state government’s stand on the indefinite fast by the GJM leaders which entered the second day, he said the district magistrate was talking with the protesters.

The last tripartite meeting was held in New Delhi on August 11 this year.

Kishenji wants autonomy for 3 Bengal districts

Kolkata: Top Maoist leader Kishenji today demanded autonomy for three tribal-dominated districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia in West Bengal while justifying the Gorkhaland statehood issue.

“We demand autonomy for the three districts on the lines of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council,” Kishenji said from an undisclosed location. He alleged the West Bengal government had denied the people of the districts their legitimate rights. “We demand autonomy to protect the language, culture and religious beliefs of tribals.”

Asked if he meant statehood, he said, “The people of the three districts are not yet prepared for statehood.” Asked if it was part of the demand for a “greater Jharkhand”, Kishenji said, “That demand is no longer relevant. The scenario has changed.”

“Moreover the formation of Jharkhand has not solved any problem. Going forward with the ‘greater Jharkhand’ demand will not solve the problem of tribals,” he said. Kisenji, however, supported the demand for Gorkhaland in Darjeeling saying it was “legitimate”.

“It is the oldest demand for a separate state. They should be allowed a separate state to focus on their development as the state government has neglected the tea and tourism industry,” he said.
Stay Away from Dooars -Tribal  Warn GJM 
TOI, JALPAIGURI/KOLKATA: The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP), which has an uneasy alliance with Gorkhaland Janmukti Morcha (GJM), has warned the latter that if it tries to spread the Gorkhaland agitation in the Dooars and Terai region, its consequences would be “lethal”. 
As of now, the tribal body has decided not to interrupt GJM supporters living in the plains “unless they come on to the roads supporting the Gorkhaland cause”. Twenty-one GJM supporters were allowed to take part in an indefinite hunger strike near the BDO office in Kalchini.
“In a democratic country like India, everybody has a right to stage a dharna. We will resist GJM only if they try to launch any movement here. We will not allow Dooars and Terai to be a part of Gorkhaland,” said Birsa Tirkey, president of ABAVP’s Bengal chapter.
Observers feel that the tribal body is now desperate to prove its strength in the plains following its defeat in the recent Kalchini by-elections. “They will have to prove that they have a say in the Dooars and Terai region,” an observer said.
The newly formed Dooars Terai Regional Unit of ABAVP has summoned a meeting on December 16 on the Gorkhaland issue. A rally will be held in Meteli in the Dooars on December 20, which will be addressed by the organisation’s all-India president, Sanjibhai Damur.
Sensing the mood, the GJM is taking extra care to appease the Adivasis. After a series of parleys, leaders of both groups have agreed on peaceful coexistence. Sources said GJM leaders have assured the tribal outfit to support their movement for autonomy, while for the sake of a broader unity among the ethnic outfits, they may compromise with the name of the proposed state, Gorkhaland.
“We always welcome tribals in our proposed state. If they join us, there is enough scope to settle the differences on the table,” said GJM leader Binay Tamang.
GJM leaders have reasons to believe that they will be able to settle the ‘Siliguri issue’ through talks. Both camps are eager on getting Siliguri, the only business centre in the belt. “While tribals are claiming Siliguri is a part of their demanded Terai, the GJM wants it to be a part of Gorkhaland,” said a senior CPM leader of the area. But the GJM does not want to burn bridges by confronting the tribals as they did earlier.
On the contrary, Gorkhas and tribals are coming close to each other, thus posing a threat to the non-tribal population. Some of them have come under Dooars Terai Nagarik Mancha that has called a strike in the tea belt on the day of the tripartite talks in Kolkata. “We are feeling insecure,” said Lary Bose, working president of Dooars Terai Nagarik Mancha