Siliguri, May 20.TT: The fear that
fresh law and order problems might delay the formation of the new set-up
for the Darjeeling hills prompted the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to cancel
tomorrow’s public meeting which would have otherwise coincided with the
ABGL’s memorial service for Madan Tamang, party insiders said today.
Morcha leaders
said the public meeting had been cancelled to avoid the risk of fresh
tension in Darjeeling, particularly when party president Bimal Gurung is
insisting that polls to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration be
held by July this year. Besides, any tension could now be a blow to
booming tourism business in the hills.
Officially, the
Morcha said peace had always been its motto. “We have taken the decision
to upkeep peace and amity in the hills.…Our party is always against any
breach of peace,” Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said today
But insiders in the party said the Morcha was now concentrating on forming the GTA by July.
“Over 10 months
have passed since the signing of the GTA agreement. People have huge
aspirations from us,” a Morcha source said. “The (party) president has
made it clear that we intend to participate in the GTA polls. We
consented to it at the March 24 meeting with state government
representatives in Calcutta.”
The pressure,
sources said, was on the state now, as it is not very clear whether the
high-power committee formed to look into the territory demand of the
Morcha would be able to submit its recommendations by June.
“But if any
activity from our side sparks tension in the hills, the pressure would
be back on us. The state might use this opportunity and ask for some
more time. People in the hills, on the other hand, are growing
impatient. We considered these facts before taking the decision (to
cancel the meeting),” the leader added.
Since its
formation in 2007, the Morcha had always scuttled its rivals’ programmes
by holding meetings, agitation or strikes on the same days.
“This is the first
time that the Morcha had softened its stand, probably because this time
the party programme was on the death anniversary of Madan Tamang, whose
murder had left the Morcha leaders uncomfortable,” a political observer
said. The Morcha had been accused of masterminding the murder of
Tamang, who was hacked to death before an ABGL public meeting.
Besides, the
summer has been a boom tourism season, “About 8,000 to 10,000 tourists
are coming to the hills everyday. Hardly any of the 6,000-odd rooms are
vacant for the next few weeks,” said Raj Basu, a veteran in the tourism
industry. “We had appealed to all political parties to maintain peace.
On an average, every tourist spends around Rs 1,000 a day.” This money
goes into the pockets of the local people, most of whom are associated
with the industry and are Morcha supporters.
“Thousands of
Morcha supporters are attached to the sector. We think the Morcha saw
reason after our appeal,” said another tour operator. “Any breach of
peace would affect the sector, as was seen in past four-five years,
leading to loss of earnings of the local people. This might be another
factor that led to the Morcha’s decision on the meeting.”
Former minister and CPM leader Asok Bhattacharya today said he would attend the ABGL memorial service in Darjeeling tomorrow.
Post a Comment
We love to hear from you! What's on your mind?