Darjeeling, May 12: The GTA Sabha has decided against holding any public event during the chief minister’s two-day Darjeeling trip starting May 14 to avoid a repeat of the Chowrastha episode when her utterances sparked protests in the audience, sources said.
Sources in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which controls the GTA Sabha, said the party had initially thought of organising a public event to welcome the chief minister.
“But many within the party were not comfortable with the idea of holding a public meeting at Chowrastha as they felt that the hill people and our leaders would not accept any anti-statehood comment from her. This will definitely strain relations between the Morcha and Mamata that have just been redeemed,” a Morcha source told The Telegraph.
On January 29, at the same Chowrastha, Mamata had said “Darjeeling is a part of us”, a comment that triggered protests from the audience. Morcha activists raised “we want Gorkhaland” slogans and waved posters that read “Gorkhaland is the way to all-round progress in the hills, Terai and Dooars”. Following this incident, the relations between the Morcha and Mamata nose-dived. Ruffled feathers were smoothed after a Morcha delegation led by general secretary Roshan Giri met the chief minister on April 23 when she was admitted to a Calcutta health facility. This will be Mamata’s first visit to Darjeeling after the January 29 fiasco.
Giri said the GTA would organise a programme at Gorkha Ranga Manch Bhavan during Mamata’s visit. “The chief minister will inaugurate an auditorium at the Gorkha Ranga Mancha Bhavan on May 14. There will be no public event at Chowrastha,” said Giri, who is also a GTA executive Sabha member.
Unlike Chowrastha, which is the main hub in the town, the general public cannot walk into the Ranga Mancha Bhavan which now houses the GTA Sabha. “An indoor event will ensure that only those people who are invited by the Morcha leadership will be present,” said an observer.
That the Morcha had second thoughts on holding the public programme for Mamata could best be gauged from Kurseong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri’s statement. The MLA said he had told the chief minister while inviting her to the hills last week that the GTA would organise an event in Darjeeling, most probably at Chowrastha.
“I did not talk of a public meeting but the impression I had was that if the GTA organises an event, it would probably be at Chowrastha. I merely told the chief minister that an event would be organised in Darjeeling and most probably at Chowrastha,” Chhetri said.
Even though the chief minister’s itinerary has not yet reached the district administration or the Morcha, party leaders said she was expected to attend only two inaugurations.
“Even though we have not yet received her official itinerary, our understanding is that she will inaugurate a fair price medical shop at the Darjeeling district hospital and the auditorium at Gorkha Ranga Manch Bhavan,” said Jyoti Kumar Rai, an assistant secretary of the Morcha and a GTA executive Sabha member.
Despite the Morcha’s aversion to hosting a public event for Mamata, the party is making arrangements to ensure a warm welcome for her. “Since the official itinerary has not yet reached us, we haven’t yet completed our arrangements. Nevertheless, we will be setting up four welcome gates at Siliguri, Kurseong, Sonada and Darjeeling (along the Hill Cart Road) to greet the chief minister,” said Rai.
शिक्षक प्रमुखको लापारवाहीको कारण बेहाल अवस्थामा चम्पामाया प्रथमिक पाठशाला
पहाड़को प्रथमिक पाठशालाहरु एका एक बन्द हुनुमा सरकार पक्ष दोषी छ कि शिक्षक-शिक्षिकाहरुको लापारवाही? किन दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को शैक्षिक स्तर दिनोदिन खस्किन्दै गइरहेको छ? प्रथमिक शिक्षा बाल-बालिकाहरुको निम्ति महत्तवपूर्ण हुँदा-हुँदै पनि किन आजसम्म पहाड़को शिक्षा व्यवस्थामा सुधार आउन सकिरहेको छैन?
राजनीति गर्दिनँ भन्नु पनि अर्को राजनीति होः हर्कबहादुर छेत्री
मेरो अधिकारक्षेत्रभित्र पाँच बर्षको लागि जनताको हितको काम गर् भनेर मलाई भोट हालेको हो नि। मलाई थाहा छ यसले जनताको धेरै हित हुन्छ। यसले जनताको हितसँगै पार्टीको पनि हित हुन्छ, आन्दोलनलाई पनि सहयोग पुर्याउँछ भनेपछि एकदम निसंकोच भनेर अघि बढ्न सक्छु म। म त्यही काम गर्दैछु।
बघिनी फेरि पुरानै खोरमा
‘समयले मानिसलाई कहाँ कहाँ पुर्याउँछ,,,,,,’ कुनै समय रेडियो नेपालबाट बजिरहने यो चर्चित गीतले मान्छेको जीवनमा प्रणयसम्बन्धको आरोह अवरोहले पार्ने प्रभावलाई सुन्दर ढंगले व्याख्या गरेको छ। यो लोकप्रिय गीतको यही एक हरफ कुनै राजनीतिकर्मीको जीवनसँग गाँसेर हेर्दा के उत्तर पाइएला?
साहित्य अनि सर्जकलाई माया गर्ने घिसिङ
80 को दशकमा देशभरिका गोर्खाहरूलाई जातित्वको भावना उत्पन्न गराउने प्रथम नेता सुवास घिसिङको निधनले अहिले घड़ी सम्पूर्ण दार्जीलिङ पहाड़ नै स्तब्ध बनेको छ। गोर्खाहरूका हित अनि अस्तित्वका निम्ति छुट्टै राज्यको बहस लिएर सुवास धिसिङले त्यसताक पहाड़का प्रत्येक गाँऊहरूको भ्रमण गरेका थिए। 22 जुन 1936 सालमा मिरिकको मञ्जु चियाबगानमा जन्म लिएरका सुवास घिसिङले आफ्नो तर्क राख्न एकलै जनसभा गर्थे। घिसिङले सम्पूर्ण गोर्खाहरूलाई एकै शुत्रमा बाँध्न "गोर्खाल्याण्ड" शब्दको जन्म गरेका थिए।
निराश छन् विधायक डा. छेत्री
“बजट सत्रमा के कुराहरू उठान गर्नु पर्ने भन्नेबारे हामीले जीटीएबाट कहिले फिडब्याक पाएका छैनौं” डा छेत्रीले भने। डा हर्कबहादुर छेत्री मोर्चाका प्रवक्ता हुन् अनि कालेबुङका जनप्रतिनिधि। दुइवटा महत्वपूर्ण पदमा बसेका डा छेत्रीलाई अहिलेसम्म जीटीएको बैठकमा निम्ताइएको छैन, पार्टीको राजनैतिक लाइनबारे उनीसँग चर्चा र छलफल नगरिएको त झन कति भयो, उनैलाई हेक्का छैन।
