April 23: A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
delegation today met chief minister Mamata Banerjee at Writers’
Buildings in Calcutta to convey party chief Bimal Gurung’s “best wishes”
to her.
“We came to meet
her because she has not been feeling well. We conveyed our (the GTA)
chief executive’s best wishes for her prompt recovery. He has also
invited the chief minister to the Darjeeling hills,” Morcha general
secretary Roshan Giri said after the meeting.
He was accompanied by party leaders Rohit Sharma and Harka Bahadur Chhetri.
The meeting in
Calcutta coincided with the GTA Sabha’s decision on who should be
appointed its principal secretary, a matter that had added to the
unpleasantness on both sides.
Today’s meeting in
Calcutta signalled a thaw in the Morcha’s relations with the state
government, a matter on which Gurung had dropped a hint at a meeting in
Mungpoo on April 3.
“It is in my hand to further deteriorate the situation. But I do not want to deteriorate it further,” he had said.
Relations between
the state government and the Morcha soured after January 29 when Mamata
at Chowrastha said Darjeeling “is a part of us”.
Today’s meeting was the first reconciliatory gesture by the Morcha since then.
According to Giri,
Mamata asked them about the functioning of the GTA Sabha and asked the
trio to “efficiently” carry out development work in the hills.
“For a review of
the implementation of the GTA agreement, home secretary Basudeb Banerjee
will come to the hills on May 13. On April 30, we will come to Writers’
for a meeting with chief secretary Sanjay Mitra,” Giri said.
In Darjeeling,
Gurung today held a meeting with all Sabha members at Singmari and later
announced: “We have decided to propose the name of R.D. Meena as the
next principal secretary of the GTA.”
Sources said
Gurung had zeroed in on Meena from among the four names sent by the
government because he is the seniormost and approaching retirement.
“The GTA Sabha
members were of the opinion that junior officers who have many years to
serve would always think of their career and would, hence, be more
inclined to keep the state government in good humour. The members were
of the opinion that Meena would not unnecessarily try to please the
state government and would work more or less independently as he would
not have to think of his career,” a Morcha source said.
The Telegraph
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