Darjeeling, March 5: Gorkha
Janmukti Morcha leaders today said they had told Union home minister
Sushil Kumar Shinde in Delhi that a decision to withdraw the statehood
agitation would be taken only after a central committee meeting of the
party.
The Morcha has called for closure
of all central, state and GTA offices in the hills from March 9 to 27
and a two-phase 48-hour general strike on March 14-15 and march 21-22
demanding Gorkhaland.
“We met the Union
home minister and discussed a number of issues, including Gorkhaland.
The minister told us many statehood demands were being raised in other
parts of the country and he gave us an impression that the Centre has
not taken any decision on the creation of Telangana at the moment. The
minister also requested our party president Bimal Gurung to withdraw the
agitation,” Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha, said over
the phone from Delhi today.
“Our party
president told the minister that a decision about withdrawing the
(Gorkhaland) agitation could be taken only after discussing the issue in
the party’s central committee meeting,” Giri said.
The Morcha had
decided to renew its statehood agitation earlier this year after it
learnt from sources that the Centre was likely to form a separate state
of Telangana.
The Morcha
delegation, which comprised Gurung, Giri and Darjeeling MLA Trilok Dewan
handed over a document titled “Why not Gorkhaland” to Shinde today.
Observers believe
that since the Morcha renewed the Gorkhaland agitation only because of
the development regarding Telangana, there is a distinct possibility
that the hill party might withdraw its programme now that they have
received signals that Telangana is not being formed immediately.
“It was under
compulsion that the Morcha had launched the Gorkhaland agitation. Given
the home minister’s stand, there are strong possibilities that the
Morcha would go slow on its agitation,” said an observer.
The Morcha
delegation that reached Delhi yesterday, sought the Centre’s
intervention to stop the state government’s interference in the working
of the GTA.
“We told the home
minister that the state government is constantly interfering with the
working of the GTA and that the Centre should step in as it is also a
signatory to the memorandum of agreement,” Giri said.
The hill party
also wants the Centre to ensure that the 382 cases slapped against
Morcha activists during the four-year statehood agitation are withdrawn
immediately.
The Centre and the state had agreed to withdraw the cases while signing the GTA agreement on July 18, 2011.
Clause 29 of the
MoA reads: “A review will be done by the State Government of all the
cases registered under various laws against persons involved in the GJM
agitation. Steps will be taken in the light of the review, not to
proceed with prosecution in all cases except those charged with murder.
Release of persons in custody will follow the withdrawal of cases.”
Giri had earlier
said: “During the last review meeting on the GTA held in Delhi on
December 26, state home secretary Basudeb Banerjee had told the
committee that 150 cases (filed by the state government) would be
withdrawn within 10 days. The same has also been recorded in the minutes
of the meeting, a copy of which is with us.” But no cases have been
withdrawn yet.
Today, the Morcha
also requested the Union home minister to ensure that Pintail Village
near Salbari is vacated by the Indian Reserve Battalion. “We have
requested the minister to ensure that the force vacates the property,”
Giri said.
The other demands
raised before the home minister included, granting of tribal status to
Gorkhas, other than those belonging to the SC community and providing
special incentives to tourism industry in the hills on the lines of the
north-eastern states.
This morning, Gurung and the other hill leaders also met rural development minister Jairam Ramesh in Delhi.
“The minister has
decided to visit Darjeeling on April 7 and 8 to assess the various rural
development projects being implemented in the hills,” Giri said.
Yesterday evening,
the Morcha team met railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in the presence
of Raiganj Congress MP Deepa Das Munshi.
The hill party
demanded immediate restoration of the DHR lines at Tindharia and a new
railway out agency (booking counter) at Gorubathan. The Morcha also
demanded that Darjeeling Mail should originate from Sukna instead New
Jalpaiguri, an NJP-Chennai express and an Anand Vihar express from Sukna
to New Delhi.
The party also
demanded laying of railway tracks between Siliguri and Darjeeling
via-Mirik, renaming Gulma railway station as Darjeeling Road and
upgrading the station to a model station. The hill leaders also demanded
revival of the Darjeeling-Bijanbari rope-way.
“We have received a positive response from the railway minister,” said Giri.
High court PIL
The Calcutta High Court today
admitted a public interest litigation (PIL) moved by the Darjeeling
People’s Front challenging the legality of the Morcha in the hills.
A division bench of Chief Justice A.K Mishra and Justice Jaymalya Bagchi has fixed March 8 for a hearing.
“The Morcha
announced that government establishments in the three subdivision of
Darjeeling would not be allowed to open from March 9 to March 27. How
can a political party give such a call?” the petitioner claimed.
The Telegraph
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