Morcha complain to governor against Mamata's government

 KOLKATA: A delegation of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) from Darjeeling met West Bengal governor M.K.Narayanan at the Raj Bhavan here on Friday to complain about Mamata Banerjee's government which was allegedly bypassing the Gorkha autonomous body while carrying out administrative work in the Hills.

Harka Bahadur Chhetri, a GJM MLA and leader of the party told reporters after their meeting that the state government had been bypassing the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) Sabha while carrying out administrative work.

"The GTA Sabha was elected on the basis of the tripartite agreement among the Union government, state government and GJM. It is now solely responsible for the overall development in Darjeeling Hills.

But the state administration is bypassing it and carrying out its own administrative work. We feel that bilateral relation of the state government and GTA is sure to deteriorate once the state government continues to bypass our elected body," Chhetri reportedly told the governor during their meeting at Raj Bhavan on Friday afternoon.

Relations between Mamata Banerjee's government at GJM in Darjeeling Hills has deteriorated significantly after chief minister's last visit in the Hills. Mamata Banerjee had taken strong exception to the act of a group of GJM activists who had displayed placards in front of her demanding a separate Gorkha state and shouted slogans in support of their demand.

An angry chief minister had told the crowd in presence of the GJM president Bimal Gurung that she was holding a government function and the Gorkhas should not raise any political demand in such a function. She also said that "I am very rough and tough and I don't want you to raise such a political demand in a government function."

Mamata's stand had certainly irked the GJM leadership including Gurung, who had later announced that they will launch fresh movement in the Hills from March in support of their demand for a separate state.

Only on Wednesday, the minister for North Bengal development Goutam Deb had to face a difficult situation when an angry mob of GJM supporters gheraoed his car near Kalimpong and shouted slogan against him, asking him not to visit the Hills again.

Naturally, the state government is not in a very comfortable position now as far as Darjeeling situation is concerned and Friday's meeting between the governor and GJM delegation was very crucial considering the current situation in the Hills.

The governor had summoned West Bengal industry minister Partha Chatterjee and the state's home secretary at Raj Bhavan immediately after his meeting with the GJM delegation and discussed with the minister about the current law and order situation in Darjeeling.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Morcha takes GTA grouse to governor - Team discusses state ‘interference’

Calcutta, Feb. 15.TT: A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha team today said it had apprised the Bengal governor of the state’s alleged interference in the GTA’s affairs and that M.K. Narayanan had assured the leaders he would speak to the chief minister about the political situation in the hills.

The delegation led by Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri met Narayanan at Raj Bhavan this evening to “find a solution” to the impasse in the hills.

Chhetri said one of the major points of discussion was the “political interference” of the state government in the functioning of certain departments that had been transferred to the GTA Sabha according to the tripartite agreement.

“Departments like land reforms, minority affairs, backward classes development, transport and tribal affairs are not being able to function independently because of political interference. Pattas of land are being distributed and a development board is being formed for the Lepchas without informing the GTA Sabha,” Chhetri said.

The chief minister had distributed land deeds among people during her visit to Darjeeling at the end of last month. The Morcha then alleged that the GTA Sabha hadn’t been informed about the programme.

Amar Singh Rai, the chairman of Darjeeling municipality and a member of the delegation, said the party had also briefed the governor on the chief minister’s public statement at Chowrastha in Darjeeling. “We had not gone to complain against anyone but basically to apprise the governor of the situation,” he said.

At the Chowrastha meeting, Mamata Banerjee sparked protests when she said “Darjeeling is a part of us”.

Rai said the governor asked the Morcha leaders to de-escalate the present situation. “He stressed the need to de-escalate the situation in Darjeeling and has told us that he will also speak to both the chief minister and the home minister in the coming days. He has appealed to the Morcha to ensure the GTA’s success,” Rai said.

The Morcha also informed the governor about some “communication gaps” between the state government and the GTA Sabha. “There are certain communication gaps between the state and the GTA Sabha. The political situation is deteriorating. We met the governor to appraise him of the political situation in the hills and to find a solution (to the problem) so that normalcy is maintained,” said Chhetri, who is also the spokesperson for the Morcha.

The MLA said the delegation had discussed with the governor the issue setting up a central university in the GTA area.

“Till date there has been no discussion on that matter and now we are hearing that North Bengal University would be made a central university. If that happens, then the chances of a central university being made in Darjeeling would be minimised as there cannot be two central universities in the same zone,” Chhetri said.

The Morcha leader said they had discussed their stand regarding the formation of the Lepcha development board with Narayanan, but he refused to divulge the details. “Things can happen without the knowledge of the governor also,” he said.