Mamata Banerjee today asked the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to refrain
from violence and talk to the state government if the party had any
problems.
The chief minister made the oblique reference to the hill party at
the inauguration of the North Bengal Wild Animals Park on the outskirts
of Siliguri.
" Puriye dile hobe na. Kichu bolar thakle bolun. Jaliye deben na (Arson would not do. If you have anything to say, tell us. Don't burn down (things)," said Mamata.
The remark came immediately after she had referred to the
establishment of various tourism infrastructure in north Bengal and the
repair of forest bungalows at Takdah and Jayanti during her regime.
According to observers, the chief minister's oblique and short
message for the Morcha is in the wake of a snap in the communication
between the state government and the GTA.
"Earlier, Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri was the link between
Morcha and the state government. Ever since he walked out of the Morcha,
the GTA-government communication has virtually stopped at the political
level. The chief minister has understood it and proposed the resumption
of talks to resolve issues through today's statement. Besides, ahead of
the polls, Mamata wants peace in the hills and that is why she referred
to the Takdah bungalow arson," said an observer.
Mamata said: "We have put in place important infrastructure across
north Bengal. The Uttarkanya and Kanyashree (the branch secretariat and
the VIP guesthouse on the same premises) have been constructed. Today,
we opened this safari park. The Takdah forest bungalow has been built
and it was torched earlier. The Jayanti bungalow, which was also gutted
in a fire, has been rebuilt."
She added: "If anybody has any problem, they should come and speak to
us. I would like to tell them that don't set fire to properties."
The Takdah bungalow, located around 35km from Darjeeling, where the
chief minister had stayed in 2012, was set on fire in August 2013 when
the Morcha was enforcing an indefinite strike over the demand of
Gorkhaland. The structure was rebuilt at the instruction of the chief
minister.
In June 2011, the Jayanti bungalow, a 61-year-old structure, was
gutted in a fire, which foresters suspected was a sabotage. The
bungalow, 35km from Alipurduar, was rebuilt with seven new cottages and
inaugurated by Mamata in September last year.
Mamata's call for the Morcha to adopt the path of peace came a day
after the Trinamul Congress had fumed at the hill party. Trinamul
leaders like MP Abhishek Banerjee and minister Arup Biswas told a rally
in Mirik yesterday that the Morcha had fooled the people of the hills in
previous elections.
As a couple of months are left for the Assembly polls, it is unlikely
that the Morcha will tie up with Trinamul even at an informal level. In
the 2011 Assembly polls, the Morcha and the Trinamul-Congress alliance
had an informal understanding and it helped the Congress and Trinamul
win a number of seats in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar
districts.(TT)
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