Territorial jurisdiction on GJM agenda

Kolkata:  Territorial jurisdiction of the new interim Gorkha Hill Council will be the main agenda on Monday when the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha leaders meet at Writers’ Building for holding talks with the new government. The issue of a separate state has been put on the back burner for the time being , said the GJM leaders.

In a bipartite meeting with the state government, the main agenda of GJM wold be the inclusion of areas contiguous to Darjeeling, but at present, are in Terai and Dooars region.

The central committee of GJM has also decided not to raise the issue of separate statehood as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is against the division of the state and will never entertain any such demand.

Besides, the GJM has softened its stand on other strategic issues recently. Earlier, GJM never agreed on a bipartite talks. However, last week after holding talks with the new state government, GJM president Bimal Gurung said the party was happy with what Mamata Banerjee has decided for them. The party, which was adamant on having a CBI probe in the Sibchu police firing incident, agreed to Banerjee’s decision on CID investigation.
Moreover, after the formation of new government, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council is believed to have received a heavy dose of financial assistance for the region which is over 50 per cent higher than what it used to receive from the former Left Front government. Incidentally, after the swearing-in, Banerjee in her first cabinet meeting decided to allot Rs 200 crore for North Bengal Development Council and a major part of the amount will go to Darjeeling district, said a senior administration official.
A senior leader of GJM central committee said, “We all know that Gorkhaland is a distant dream. But we could not not move from the separate statehood issue before the election as it is close to the heart of the people of the hills.”

He further said, “However, now we have decided to go slow on the separate statehood, if not drop the issue for ever. We will again have a central committee meeting before the tripartite talks. But as of now we have decided not to raise the Gorkhaland issue as it can make Mamata Didi angry. At present, she is cooperating with us and she has promised that she would do something for Darjeeling as it was neglected for so many years.” Besides, it has been decided to set the issue aside for the time being as it is believed there would be some changes in the Union Home Ministry, the leader said.

When asked about the agenda of the meeting scheduled on June 6 in Kolkata, Triloknath Dewan, MLA of Darjeeling and former Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh said, “We have five-point agenda for Monday. The most important is the rationalisation of the territory of Darjeeling. We want 195 mouzas of Dooars to be included in Darjeeling district as the tea-garden areas are more contiguous to the hills than Terai and Dooars.”
He further said, “Moreover we want our staff of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council( DGHC) to be regularised and the blocks to be reorganized for proper implementation of the developmental schemes in the area.
Asked about separate statehood, Roshan Giri, GJM general secretary, said, “We are now watching the development on the Darjeeling issue. Mamata Banerjee’s approach towards the hill issue is very positive. We will not take any wild decision at present. After the meeting on June 6, there will be a political meeting and then there will be a tripartite meeting.” 
......indianexpress