Gurung tone switch as rivals step in

April 3:Gurung at the Mungpoo garden on Wednesday. Picture by Suman Tamang “It is in my hand to further deteriorate the situation. But I do not want to deteriorate it further. We have come to develop the hills and already started working on issues related to health, education and tourism,” Gurung said after opening a flower garden at Mungpoo, 35km from Darjeeling. Observers said the pressure on Gurung, who is the GTA Sabha chief executive, to deliver through the autonomous hill set-up had probably prompted him to soften his stance. “Soon after the relation between Gurung and Mamata Banerjee got strained, the GNLF increased its (political) activity here. The GNLF, despite being rudderless, still commands more support than other political parties in the hills (other than the Morcha). Trinamul is also making inroads in the Dooars and this seems to have put pressure on Gurung to deliver through the GTA,” said a Morcha leader. Gurung, asked today about his strained ties with the Trinamul-led state government, said such things keep happening in politics. “In politics, relations deteriorate at times and the very next time, it can get better. These things happen in politics.” Sources in the party said several Morcha leaders had advised Gurung on the need to iron out the Morcha’s differences with the state government. “We had been impressing upon Gurung on the need to improve our ties with the state government. Till recently, we were getting an impression that he was hurt and it would take time to smoothen the ruffled feathers. His statement today has come as a surprise,” said a Morcha leader who did not wish to be named. In recent weeks, a few hundred Morcha supporters, mostly from the Dooars and Terai, have joined either the GNLF or Trinamul. Although, the Dooars and Terai are not in the GTA’s area of control, they are part of the Morcha’s larger Gorkhaland map. Observers said Gurung may have also kept in mind that the principal secretary to the GTA, who is the drawing and disbursing officer of the hill council, is a state government appointee and straining relations with the state could also hamper development work. In February, Gurung had threatened to resign from the GTA Sabha, but weeks ago he changed his mind. The Morcha, which had announced a series of shutdowns in March, ultimately did not go ahead with the protests after central ministers advised the party leadership to work for the GTA and not disrupt life in the hills. Relations between the Morcha and the state government began a downward slide after January 29 when chief minister Mamata Banerjee said “Darjeeling is a part of us”, triggering statehood slogans at Chowrastha. After Gurung’s statement today, which signals a rapprochement with the state government, Morcha leaders said that they would expect it to reciprocate the gesture so that the GTA and the state administration can function smoothly in the future. Today, the Morcha’s Kalimpong subdivisional committee announced a series of programmes from April 5-11. April 5 is the GNLF’s foundation day and the Morcha is known to announce programmes on that day every year to throw a spanner in the GNLF’s plans. While the GNLF has a flag-raising ceremony on April 5 in Kalimpong, Trinamul is scheduled to hold meetings in the hills on April 7 or 8. Today, when Kumar Chamling, the secretary of the Morcha’s Kalimpong unit, was asked about the timing of the party’s meetings, he said: “We had planned these programmes last month itself but did not go public because we had not received permission from the administration. We don’t plan our programmes on the basis of what other parties are doing or not doing.” The Yuva Morcha, the party’s youth wing, is also supposed to hold a series of public meetings across the hills on April 5. That not all Morcha leaders were happy with the party’s work in the hills was clear today from the resignation of Leo Rai, a working member of the Morcha’s Kalimpong branch. “It is very clear that after the formation of the GTA, the party does not need people who wholeheartedly participated in the agitation. Sabhasads (GTA executive members) are enough do all the work of the party,” he said. Chamling refused to confirm the resignation of another leader, senior Nari Morcha member from Kalimpong Namita Gautam. “I have no information on the subject,” he said. Gautam couldn’t be contacted. At Mungpoo today, Gurung spoke about tourism prospects. “Recently, I visited a place at Nok Dhara in Kalimpong and that place must be developed into a tourist spot as one gets a 360-degree view of the surrounding hills. Even this place (Mungpoo) is very beautiful. I am also scouting for places to set up 25 high schools. We are also focusing on improving healthcare,” he said.