Darjeeling: A trade union of the Gorkha National Liberation
Front has decided to cancel its programme to gherao Lal Khoti - the
administrative headquarters of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration
- on Friday, the announcement being made a day after its arch rival,
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, had launched a vitriolic attack on the GNLF.
The Himalayan Plantation Workers' Union, the trade wing of the
GNLF, had earlier announced the gherao of Lal Khoti primarily to demand
that tea garden workers also be paid wages for the 104-day strike
period last year.
The union had maintained that since the Binay Tamang and other
Morcha leaders were responsible for calling the strike, it was their
duty to redress the grievance.
J.B. Tamang, the general secretary of the union on Thursday,
said: "We have decided to cancel the Lal Khoti siege. This is largely
because we found out that Binay Tamang has to ultimately approach the
state government."
"Our party president Mann Ghisingh is in touch with the state
ministers over the phone. Our leader has been verbally assured that the
state labour minister will meet a delegation of our party after May 7.
Under our president's direction, we have decided to cancel the gherao,"
said Tamang.
The GNLF's announcement comes a day after the Morcha launched a
vitriolic attack on the GNLF for allegedly trying to disrupt peace in
the hills once again.
Sources in the Morcha also said its workers were planning to gather at Lal Khoti on Friday to thwart the GNLF's gherao.
In the given situation, observers believe that the state
government also played a role in ensuring that there was no breach in
peace in the hills.
"It seems obvious that the state government has intervened to
ensure that no untoward incident takes place in the hills," said an
observer.
"Given that the GNLF is making some inroads into the hills,
any violent incident would only have backfired on the GNLF," said the
observer.
Tamang, however, denied that the decision had been influenced
by the Morcha's strong statement on Wednesday. "Our decision has got
nothing to do with their (Morcha's) statement," he said .
"We decided to change our plan as we realised that Binay
Tamang would have to fall back on the state government as he could do
little to resolve the issue," said the union leader.
Tamang was also silent on the stand that since Binay Tamang
and Morcha leader had called the 104-day strike, it was their
responsibility to solve this issue .
The Telegraph