DARJEELING HILLS: Morcha issues 10-day bandh call
JUNE 12 TO JUNE 21

FROM THE TELEGRAPH



Kalimpong, May 13: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said it would pull out of talks for an “interim” set-up for the Darjeeling hills and revive the demand for Gorkhaland in a fresh bout of muscle-flexing that came with a 10-day shutdown call next month.

Morcha boss Bimal Gurung said “everything will remain closed” during the June 12-21 bandh, as he mounted pressure on the Centre and the Bengal government to agree to the inclusion of Siliguri and Gorkha-speaking areas of the Dooars and the Terai under the proposed authority’s jurisdiction.

“Henceforth, we will not carry forward the interim arrangement, but will work towards the creation of Gorkhaland state,” Gurung told a media conference in Deolo, 5km from Kalimpong.

The announcement came two days after the collapse of tripartite talks following differences over territory to come under the interim authority.

The bureaucratic-level talks broke down after the Centre and the state insisted the set-up be limited to the hill subdivisions of Kalimpong, Kurseong and Darjeeling.

Asked if his party would skip the next round of political-level discussions, Gurung said the exercise would be meaningless if the issue of territory was not resolved. “The meeting on May 11 at the bureaucratic level was meant to facilitate the process of resolving the issue of territorial jurisdiction before the political talks. But the Centre and the state refused to discuss the issue and said only the executive authority of the body would be discussed,” he said. “What is the point in attending talks at the political level if territorial jurisdiction is not discussed.”

A Morcha leader said there was a “sizeable” Nepali population in the Dooars. “So, if that area is not included in the set-up, we will be letting them down. That will not be good for the party’s image.”

A home ministry source in Delhi, however, expressed hope that the Morcha would attend the political talks, tentatively scheduled for May-end. But officials insisted the Morcha’s territorial demands were “unacceptable” at this juncture.

“There needs to be a political consensus. All three leading parties of Bengal — the CPM, Trinamul and the Congress — are opposed to giving additional territory,” said an official.

Gurung said the bandh would be enforced in all the areas his party wants to be brought under Gorkhaland. “Everything will remain closed, including schools and tea gardens.”