Morcha builds on momentum - Protests in Calcutta, torch rallies in hills

Darjeeling, Feb. 1: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today decided to hold daily torch rallies across the hills from February 3 to keep up the momentum of the statehood agitation generated during the uproar at Chowrastha in the chief minister’s presence. The decision to intensify the agitation was taken at a meeting of elected members of the GTA Sabha at the Morcha office here. The hill party has now decided that it will not wait till the March 10 Sukna rally to announce the outline of their renewed movement. The party also decided to extend the ongoing dharna in New Delhi for the creation of Gorkhaland till February 10 and is mulling over holding programmes in Calcutta also. Morcha president Bimal Gurung was not present at the meeting today.

He has said on January 30 that the future course of the renewed agitation for the separate state would be outlined at a public meeting at Sukna on March 10. The Morcha announced its “final battle” for statehood in the hills on January 16 after it got information from its sources that the Centre was amenable to the creation of a separate Telangana state. The Centre has not said anything clearly on Telangana yet. On January 29, some Morcha supporters chanted slogans of “we want Gorkhaland” when Mamata Banerjee spoke for a united Bengal at the Uttarbanga Utsav. “Darjeeling is a part of us,” she said, infuriating Morcha supporters at Chowrastha. After today’s meeting, Morcha assistant secretary Binay Tamang said: “From Sunday onwards, the party will organise torch rallies in every village, tea garden and constituency of the GTA Sabha to demand Gorkhaland. For almost a fortnight, the youth front of the party has been organising torch rallies in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik on Thursday’s.” The Morcha said the dharna in Delhi would continue till February 10, instead of the earlier date of February 5. “Today, Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh also took part in the dharna. We want to keep up the pressure on the Centre to create Gorkhaland if Telangana is formed,” Tamang said. Gurung will hold a meeting with members of various frontal organisation of the Morcha at the party office at Patlasbas in Darjeeling tomorrow to discuss the agitation plan. “Our party chief will also address Morcha leaders of various units (subdivisional, town and village committees) at Darjeeling Gymkhana Club on February 4,” said Tamang. “The GTA Sabha members felt some programmes demanding Gorkhaland should also be held in Calcutta. We will definitely hold some programmes in Calcutta,” he said. Even though the Morcha has been organising programmes in support of Gorkhaland ever since the Telangana issue came into limelight last month, the fiasco following the chief minister’s statement has suddenly injected fresh enthusiasm into the cadres. “The party is definitely trying to keep the momentum going and today’s announcement is a clear indication of that,” said an observer.(TT)

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Tamang son in house row

AVIJIT SINHA Siliguri, Feb. 1: A 69-year-old British woman alleged that she had been dragged and thrown out of a rented flat in Uttarayon township near here on January 22 by the family members of slain ABGL leader Madan Tamang who own the flat Philippa Isidore Presentation has been staying in India for the past eight years. Pip, as the senior lady prefers to call herself, said she had been staying on the first floor of the two-storied house owned by the Tamang family for the past two years against a rent of Rs 20,000. “I was born in London and visited India 25 years back. Feeling enchanted with the country, I have been staying in India for the past eight years. In the initial four years, I have stayed in Kerala and then in Darjeeling for another two years. Two years ago, I shifted to Uttarayon and have been staying on rent in Sanyog Tamang’s house since then,” she said today. “Apart from the stipulated rent, I have been paying the maintenance charges to Uttarayon authorities and also electricity bills on a regular basis. Things were fine. But for past one year or so, the Tamang family has, for no reasons or provocation, started misbehaving with me. On January 22, the family forcibly dragged me out of the house and did not even let me in to get my belongings. As of now, I am staying in a hotel in Siliguri,” she added. Pip, who claims to have served with the Royal Air Force in UK, used to run an NGO, but at present is unemployed. The lady has filed complaints with Matigara police and also the Siliguri metropolitan police commissionerate. She alleged that no action was taken by the police. “I have submitted complaints with the police and have also informed the British embassy in Calcutta and Delhi,” she said. Sanyog Tamang gave a different account. “She cannot be considered a tenant as there is no agreement of tenancy. She had been staying in our house since December 27, 2010, and suddenly stopped paying the rent. As the rent dues piled for over 15 months, we had no other option but to tell her to leave,” he said. (TT)

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Gorkhas threatened militant movements in Darjeeling

KOLKATA: After Tuesday's revolt by the Gorkhas at the chief minister Mamata Banerjee's function in Darjeeling, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) leadership has threatened to go for a militant movement in the Hills to realise their demand for a separate state. "This time our movement might not be democratic one. We may be forced to go for a violent agitation in Darjeeling and both the Centre and the state government will have to bear responsibilities for any untoward incidents. We will hold a rally at Sukna on March 10 from where our leader Bimal Gurung will announce next course of action," GJM leader Benoy Tamang told ET on Wednesday. The GJM leadership has taken a strong exception to the chief minister Mamata Banerjee's act of meeting some Lepcha representatives at Algora in Darjeeling on Wednesday. Mamata has assured the Lepchas that her government will set up an autonomous council for the developments of this Hill people. "The chief minister is trying to draw a line of division among the Hill people and we will not allow her to do this," Tamang said. In fact, the GJM has started boycotting the chief minister's function in Darjeeling. On Wednesday, GJM president Bimal Gurung has inaugurated a bridge on the river Rangeela at Bijanbari in the Darjeeling Hills in absence of the chief minister. Earlier it was announced that the chief minister will inaugurate the new bridge. But Mamata Banerjee has skipped the inaugural function and in her place, GJM chief Gurung has inaugurated the new bridge. Wednesday's development at Bijanbari clearly indicates the fact that both the GJM and Mamata Banerjee's government are going to confront each other in the days ahead. Trinamool Congress sources said on Wednesday that the chief minister was very much displeased with the GJM leadership not because of displaying of placards by some of their supporters during her meeting at Darjeeling on Tuesday, but because of GJM chief Bimal Gurung's statements after her meeting was over. Gurung had opposed Mamata's observations that Darjeeling was an integral part of West Bengal and "by describing Darjeeling as a part of Bengal, the chief minister had in fact, hurt the sentiment of the Hill people." Gurung had also criticised the chief minister for many other reasons and Trinamool Congress sources on Wednesday made it clear that Mamata had not taken easily Gurung's comments and will never accept GJM's demand for a separate state. "Didi has practically refused to attend the inaugural function at Bijanbari on Wednesday which was attended by Bimal Gurung, after yesterday's developments in Darjeeling," said a senior minister and Trinamool Congress leader, on condition of anonymity. It is learnt that the chief minister will review the situations in Darjeeling Hills after her return to Kolkata and is likely to ask the state administration to handle law and order situation in the Hills firmly. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

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Gurung raises movement pitch March 10 rally to lay out statehood fight

VIVEK CHHETRI Bijanbari, Jan. 30: Peace in Darjeeling — one of Mamata Banerjee’s biggest trophies in power — is running the risk of getting sucked into a game of oneupmanship started by the chief minister herself. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung today lined up a March rally to announce the future course of the Gorkhaland statehood movement, slipping back to aggressive language to counter the assertive streak the chief minister displayed before his core constituency yesterday.

“You must be ready for the next phase of the agitation. Bullets will fly. We are ready to face police bullets as this is what they will do. She will send in the police force and their bullets, she will reopen old cases (against the agitators), we know all about it and we are ready to take bullets to achieve statehood,” Gurung told a meeting after he inaugurated a rebuilt bridge that Mamata opened by remote-control yesterday. The remote-controlled opening itself has become an emotive issue as 33 people had died when the original bridge collapsed in 2011, rubbing salt into the wounds split open when Mamata declared yesterday that “Darjeeling is part of us”. Many feel Mamata made a blunder as she could have steered clear of such statements at the non-political event that was associated with a festival. Another source of friction appeared to emerge with Mamata today holding a meeting with members of the Lepcha community in Kalimpong, prompting Gurung to allege that the chief minister was following a “divide-and-rule policy”. The Lepchas have been demanding a Lepcha Development Council — a body without territorial demand — outside the purview of the GTA. But the GTA Sabha wants the Lepchas to form a development board under it. Gurung, already under pressure because of the renewed debate on Telangana on whose fate the carefully maintained peace in the hills rests, betrayed the compulsions on his home turf by hitting out at the chief minister. “Let her do whatever she wants. My emotions are not attached to Calcutta but with the people of the hills, with the families who lost their near and dear ones at Bijanbari. Mamata is only confined to her name, she has no mamata (warmth) left in her,” Gurung added. The Morcha chief, who is also the chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration that runs the hills, said he had agreed to attend yesterday’s event at Chowrastha only after an assurance from north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb that the chief minister would not make any statements on sensitive issues. “Gautam Deb called me up and requested us to be present. I, however, told the minister that if the chief minister comments on the sensitive statehood issue, we would stage a walkout,” the Morcha chief said. “Gautam Deb assured us that the chief minister would not make such a statement,” he added. Asked later, Deb said he could not respond without knowing the contents of Gurung’s speech. Gurung told reporters later that the rally to announce the future course of action would be organised at Sukna on March 10. “Do not take us lightly, we are not afraid of anyone and are ready to go to any extent to fulfil our goal. We will not tolerate such an attitude,” Gurung said at the Bijanbari programme. The GTA chief executive requested his deputy, Ramesh Allay, to unveil the memorial stone bearing the names of the 33 people who had died in the bridge collapse in October 2011, 35km from Darjeeling. “The Bengal government should not take this incident otherwise. We have planned so much for this place (Bijanbari). I still have a sum of Rs 15 lakh which was donated by the people for the victims’ families. I want to add another Rs 1 crore from the GTA to set up a memorial park at this place (Bijanbari). We have already passed a project to connect this bridge with a motorable road. So many things had to be said and this is why we wanted to inaugurate this bridge in a grand manner and not through remote-control” he said. “We are not trying to overtake them by inaugurating the bridge again. One has to understand that the story of this bridge is different. Thirty-three people lost their lives and the emotions of the entire hills are attached to this tragedy.”(TT)

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Golay to float party on Feb. 4

Gangtok, Jan. 30: The new party of P.S. Golay will be launched at Soreng in West Sikkim on Monday with a meeting that is expected to be attended by around 5,000 people. The event will also witness the unveiling of the party’s flag and the announcement of names of central executive members. “The preparations are almost over. The names of central executive members of the party will also be announced on February 4. We are expecting around 5,000 people to attend the launch of our party at Soreng Bazaar. The event will start at 9am,” said Bhoj Raj Rai, a former MLA of the SDF and a close aide to Golay.

Soreng is the native place of Golay, who was elected from Upper Burtuk in East Sikkim in 2009. Asked in whose name the party had been registered, Rai said it would be disclosed on Monday. “The party hasn’t been registered in the name of Golay. Nor will he hold any post in the party. But he will be present at the launch.” The SDF declined to comment when asked if the party would sack Golay. “In a democracy everyone has the right to form a party; no more comments,” SDF spokesperson P.D. Rai said over the phone from Delhi. (TT)

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Barla to fight rural polls with Morcha

Siliguri, Jan. 30: John Barla today said he would contest the upcoming panchayat polls as an ally of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha but the tribal leader desisted from commenting on the statehood demand. Earlier this month, Barla, who had been thrown out of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad and formed the north Bengal unit of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), had said that he would no longer support Morcha’s demand for a separate state. “We might have differences over the issue of separate statehood as tribals in the Terai and Dooars are against it. But we will continue to be allies and right now we are focusing on the panchayat polls,” Barla said today.

The rural elections are likely to be held in May and four blocks in the Terai and seven in the Dooars will vote for all three tiers of the panchayat system. “It is up to the Morcha leaders in the foothills to decide whether they will participate in the Gorkhaland movement or not as the central leaders of the party have decided to resume it (the statehood agitation). In that case, we will remain silent and keep on working for the rural votes,” Barla said. He added that they had approached Trinamul to form an alliance but received no reply from the party. “We have been fighting for our rights and demands under the banner of the co-ordination committee which comprises Morcha and some other organisations and parties. A proposal was mooted from our side (Barla and the Morcha) and we had met north Bengal development minister and Trinamul leader Gautam Deb (in November) to join hands with us. But no communication was made from Trinamul’s side. Considering the present state of affairs, we want to say that common candidates would be fielded by us and the Morcha under the banner of JMM and the Morcha in the respective panchayat seats,” said the tribal leader. “According to our assessment, we have seen that Trinamul cannot be counted as a party with considerable political force in the Terai and Dooars. Their trade union is new with an insignificant base in the brew belt. The party does not have any political representative in the Dooars and Terai and its presence is limited to only some towns in the region,” he added. Earlier this month, Barla had said he would no longer support the Morcha’s demand for a separate state as the hill party had not shown any interest in forming the Gorkhaland Adivasi Territorial Administration, including Darjeeling and the Dooars. Morcha leaders in the Dooars stood by Barla after the announcement today. “Our alliance with John Barla and the JMM is more than a year old. It will continue and we will contest the panchayat polls together. We are waiting for instructions from our central leaders to resume the movement for Gorkhaland. But that does not mean we will shift our focus from the panchayat polls,” said Madhukar Thapa, a central committee leader of the Morcha from the Dooars. “We will definitely contest the rural polls and we intend to bag the majority of seats to work for development of the backward population in the Dooars and Terai. Like the GTA, which we consider as a tool for development in the hills, we will utilise the offices of the public representatives under the three-tier panchayat system (in the plains) to meet the basic demands of food, health, housing, road, electricity and employment of our people,” the Morcha leader said. Trinamul had contested against the Morcha in some seats during the GTA polls in 2012. “As of now, there is no question of an alliance with Trinamul. So far as the Dooars and Terai are concerned, the party (Trinamul) lacks base in these areas,” said Thapa. Today, Trinamul leaders in Jalpaiguri district said the widening rift between the party and the Morcha was unlikely to have any negative effects on the panchayat polls. “Focusing on the Dooars and Terai, we have taken up micro-level campaigns. Residents have also realised the chief minister’s sincerity in improving their socio-economic conditions.We are working alone and have not forged any alliance so far,” said a senior Trinamul leader who did not wish to be named. “We might lack a trade union base and not have many public representatives. But, we are ahead in terms of the development process that has been taken up by our government and we expect a favourable mandate.”(TT)

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Deepa dig at Mamata

Siliguri, Jan. 30: Deepa Das Munshi today accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee of “hurriedly” signing the GTA agreement while “bypassing the issue of separate statehood.” “After assuming power, the chief minister, in a hurried manner, held a couple of meetings with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders and went ahead to sign the GTA agreement. She bypassed the principal issue of Gorkhaland and did not give time or thought to settle it. Instead, she tried to gain popularity by creating the GTA. The statehood issue, which remained suppressed, has now blown off the lid,” said the Congress Union minister. “The central government is definitely a party to the agreement and assented to the cash assistance to the autonomous body. The principal onus was on the state government and the chief minister failed to deliver her task,” she said.

Deepa, a known Mamata-baiter, also pointed out that the allegation raised by the Morcha that the state is meddling its works, was a valid one. “When the departments have been transferred according to the GTA agreement, how can the state government function alone in the hills, without taking the GTA into confidence?” she asked. “The chief minister is oblivious to the ground realities and has invited trouble by taking things too casually,” she added. Shankar Malakar, the Darjeeling district Congress president and the MLA of Matigara-Naxalbari who had witnessed the Gorkhaland movement in the hills over decades, said the GTA has remained a half-hearted initiative on the part of the state government. “The GTA was formed but for some reasons or other, it was not allowed to function by the state government. Departments were not transferred and elected representatives were undermined over months. The chief minister’s imprudent step to keep the credits with herself and her government by providing land rights and inaugurating projects in the hills and not through the GTA has added fuel to the fire,” Malakar said. “The Centre has always come forward to help the state in dealing with the Darjeeling issue. Earlier, it was during the formation of the DGHC and recently, during the GTA agreement. However, just like the CPM, Trinamul has ruined the opportunity to mollify the hill residents and carry out extensive development work,” he added.(TT)

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4th Indian Hindi writers and poets felicitation cum national level writers meet at Shillong

SANJAY AGARWAL –RANGPO-30TH JANUARY 13 Purottar Hindi academy Shillong is going to organize 4th Indian Hindi writers and poets felicitation cum national level writers meet at Shillong for four days from 24th to 26th may13 ,.dr akela bhai programme chairperson informed over the phone that first such type of programme in the north east region shall be attend by huge gathering of poets ,writers ,well-wishers of Hindi language and literature .formed in 1990 from last 21 years more than 140 such type of programmes are organized with the help and support of several ngos ,club ,associations and is fully success .

last year the Hindi development conference was organized at silong was a grand success and miss Agatha sangma cabinet minister for state was also present in the programme .regarding this year programme dr akela bhai has informed that every participants shall provide certificate followed by invited writers and poets with dr maharaja sen memorial felicitation latter ,shawal etc .except this in the 12th death anniversary of dr maharaj krishan jain the poets and writers shall be specially felicitated during the four days long programme .for the said historical programme the work is started .dr akela bhai along with his team has met with Sikkim governor Mr. balmiki Prasad Singh at Rangpo winter camp and has requested to attend in the programme .his Excellency has shown keen interest to attend in the programme .

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Majhitar under west Pandam constituency has strongly objected for taking water pipe line connection from the khanikhola water resource

SANJAY AGARWAL –RANGPO-30TH JAnuari 13 Majhitar under west Pandam constituency has strongly objected for taking water pipe line connection from the khanikhola water resource by the Sikkim manipal institute of technology Majhitar .according to the news the Majhitar has a big water resources constructed by state government for the benefit of local residents .but the said resources has not benefitted the local residents and maximum water is supplied for the industries and educational institution.

the local residents from a long time is using the drinking water from their own resources named khanikhola .from that area also the manipal management of Majhitar has already using water by 3inch big pipe from several years .again they are going to install 4 inch pipe from the same area for drinking water .when the local residents has objected over the installation the councilor Mr. puran bahadur Chettri informing local residents regarding maathi ko hokum asked not to disturb for installation .such type of work is totally against the feeling of local residents. Maathi ko hokum may creats the problem in future too as in one side the department is not providing water connection constructed under the greater Rangpo project and in other side the private connection developed by the locals are also used by the industries and big institutions .

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Blame on CM for hill protest

AVIJIT SINHA Siliguri, Jan. 29: The CPM said Mamata Banerjee’s failure to understand the sentiments of the people in the hills and disregard for the GTA in the conduct of the Uttarbanga Utsav triggered the protest at the inauguration of the fest today. “The chief minister’s overconfidence and her pathetic understanding of the sentiments of the people in the hills led to today’s incident. In an unabashed manner, she had ignored the GTA and its representatives, undermined the autonomous body and gone ahead with the Uttarbanga Utsav in Darjeeling,” said former state minister and CPM leader Asok Bhattacharya. He said the festival had been organised in GTA territory without involving the hill body. “Bimal Gurung and others were simply invitees to the event, which has left the people disgruntled. Interestingly, all departments, except north Bengal development, which are partners of the festival, have been transferred to the GTA. We don’t believe Mamata Banerjee was unaware of these facts but it is her overconfidence that has led to the re-emergence of the crisis in the hills,” said Bhattacharya.

The CPM leader said the distribution of secured land pattas, and the opening of a tourist spot at Lamahata in Kalimpong and a minority building in Darjeeling should have been done by the GTA, and not the state, as the departments concerned were run by the hill body. Surjya Kanta Mishra, the leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said in Islampur that the chief minister was surely performing shradh in the name of festivals. “She is using public money of the cash-strapped government to perform the shradh of the common people.” Reacting to the incident in Darjeeling, the Kamtapur People’s Party said the Rajbangshi people in north Bengal were as aggrieved as the hill people. ‘If nothing is done for them by the state government, the chief minister might have to witness similar protests in future,” said KPP president Atul Roy. The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad also said tribal people were becoming restless with the non-fulfilment of commitments by the government and warned of a movement against the rulers. (TT)

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Morcha team meets Advani

New Delhi, Jan. 29: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders will submit three documents on the Gorkhaland struggle to BJP leader L.K. Advani this week to push the party to take a clear stand on the statehood demand. A group of Morcha leaders, along with MLAs from the hills and GTA Sabha members, led by Roshan Giri called on Advani at his residence today. Over the next three days, the Morcha leadership will fine-tune and submit three documents to Advani titled “Case history of Gorkhaland”, “Why Gorkhaland” and “Gorkhaland movement”. “We will submit the three documents so that the BJP can take a clear stand (on the issue),” Giri told The Telegraph today after a 30-minute meeting with the senior BJP leader.

“The BJP has been in favour of smaller states. After all, the party formed Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh,” Giri said. MLAs Trilok Dewan and Rohit Sharma and two GTA Sabha members also met Advani along with Giri today. A bill for the creation of GTA was passed in the Bengal Assembly in 2011, making way for the autonomous hill body. Today, after the meeting with the Morcha leaders, BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Prakash Javadekar said: “It is a case for justice to be done.” Although BJP leaders have time and again said that the statehood issue should be viewed more “sympathetically”, the party has not been clear about its stand on carving out a separate state out of Bengal. The BJP’s election manifesto in 2009 included addressing the long-pending demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland but stopped short of a commitment. “We will sympathetically examine and appropriately consider the long-pending demands of the Gorkhas, the Adivasis and other people of Darjeeling district and Dooars region,” read the BJP manifesto. The party’s leader Jaswant Singh even won the Lok Sabha elections from Darjeeling. The Congress and the CPM are not known to support the statehood demand. While the Congress wants an alternative mechanism, the CPM is opposed to the demand for a separate state. Earlier this month, the Morcha had announced its final battle demanding a separate state after the hill party leadership suspected that the Centre was keen on carving out a separate state of Telangana. Giri had said that it would be a “relentless” struggle and continue till Gorkhaland was achieved. The hill party had organised a dharna in New Delhi last week demanding Gorkhaland. The Morcha had called on Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and urged him to announce the formation of Gorkhaland along with Telangana. But with the UPA government treading cautiously on Telangana, and the Centre toying with idea of proposing a GTA-like model there, the Morcha wants to push the BJP to come clear on the statehood issue. “We hope that in the next two days we will submit the “Case history of Gorkhaland” to Advaniji. Our dharna at Jantar Mantar will continue,” said Giri. He added that the Morcha had been seeking permission for the sit-in protest on a day-to-day basis. The agitators have been granted permission by local authorities in Delhi for a dharna tomorrow, said the Morcha leader.(TT)

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Hills wipe CM’s smile - Mamata livid after slogans greet darjeeling declaration

Darjeeling, Jan. 29: Disbelief and anger washed over Mamata Banerjee today as the chief minister ran into a chorus of “We want Gorkhaland” slogans minutes after declaring that “Darjeeling is a part of Bengal” at Chowrastha Mall. The well-intentioned but ill-timed assertion left a blot on one of the few achievements of the chief minister: peace in Darjeeling, which Mamata tomtoms frequently by saying “the hills are smiling”. The chief minister could have easily steered clear of the thinly concealed references to statehood at a time the Telangana debate is back on the boil. In any case, today’s event in Darjeeling was a festival inauguration where statehood was never on the agenda. So taken aback was Mamata by the backlash from the audience that she left the venue 15 minutes after cultural events commenced. The chief minister, whose partiality to events cultural is well documented, did not wait to listen to even Anjan Dutta singing. The unparalleled events unfolded after Mamata underscored repeatedly during her 10-minute speech that Darjeeling was a part of Bengal.

“Darjeeling hamara hissa hai. GTA kaam kar raha hai, (Darjeeling is part of us. GTA is doing its job),” Mamata said. GTA stands for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, the autonomous body that runs the hills. “Darjeeling should remain peaceful. Anything that can stop the development of Darjeeling should not happen. We have reached here after much hardship. I have been hearing certain things for the last few days. I want Darjeeling to remain peaceful,” she added. As soon as she finished, the slogans rent the air and at least two persons raised placards with references to Gorkhaland. Turning livid, Mamata grabbed the microphone and chided the 2,000-strong audience: “This is a government programme. It will send a wrong message that Darjeeling is going for something else. This is not your party programme, this is not my party programme. I am rough and tough.” Few can contest Mamata’s — or the overzealous state police’s — skills at “crowd management”. Shiladitya Chowdhury, the villager who was arrested in West Midnapore for asking the chief minister uncomfortable questions last August, should know. But in Darjeeling this afternoon, the slogans didn’t die down as more people joined the chorus with some holding aloft posters and waving the green-white-yellow flag of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM). Mamata looked stunned initially. Then she tried to calm the audience of GTA office-bearers, members and the general public. “This is a political slogan. You have the right to raise it in your party programme. Not here,” she said. Mamata turned towards Bimal Gurung, the GJM leader and GTA chief executive. Gurung tried to control the crowd and Mamata took the microphone again but didn’t get the desired result, following which she stepped off the dais. Trinamul insiders said the situation could have spun out of control had the chief minister not controlled herself and left the dais. “In Darjeeling, it is the GJM which calls the shots. We had no way out but to leave the matter there despite the sloganeering,” said a senior Trinamul leader. Sources close to Mamata said the episode was the most embarrassing moment for her after she became chief minister. “She was very upset… she has supported the GJM and co-operated with them at all levels. This was not expected,” said another Trinamul leader. After stepping off the dais, Mamata took a seat to watch cultural programmes arranged for the seven-day festival. Fifteen minutes into the events, she got up, bid goodbye to Gurung and other GTA functionaries and headed to Algara in Kalimpong. Later, Gurung said Mamata should have been “sensitive to the hill people’s aspiration” in spite of her “political compulsions”. “When the chief minister says Bengal will not be divided, sentiments of the people in the hills are hurt,” Gurung said. He said Mamata should have restrained herself. “She told our people not to raise the Gorkhaland issue since it was not a political programme. By that logic, she should not have talked about no division of Bengal as that is a political issue,” Gurung said. (TT)

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