All-party meeting demand

TT, Siliguri, Aug. 9: CPM leader Asok Bhattacharya today said the Centre should call an all-party meeting to resolve the impasse in the hills and review the GTA pact as many “questions” had been raised against the hill body.

“We want the central government to convene an all-party meeting immediately. Such a step is necessary to break the deadlock as the state government is considering the hill issue as a mere law and order problem and trying to curb the movement by using force,” Bhattacharya said at the CPM party office in Siliguri today.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's indefinite strike entered its seventh day today.

“The Centre and the state should also take up the task of reviewing the GTA agreement as questions have been raised on certain issues pertaining to the body. There are provisions within the agreement for such a review. The state is yet to abide by some clauses, including recruitment of youths into police, paramilitary and armed forces,” he said.

Before signing the GTA pact, the state government had assured the Morcha that the GLP cadres would be absorbed into the security forces.

Section 30 of the agreement states: “The GTA youth would be considered for recruitment in the Police, Army and Paramilitary forces subject to their suitability for such appointment.”

Section 31 of the pact states: “The implementation of the provision of the Memorandum of Agreement shall be periodically reviewed by a committee....” Two review meetings have been held so far.

Bhattacharya said the recent arrests would complicate the situation. Around 150 Morcha leaders, workers and GLP cadres have been arrested.

“The state is incorrectly assessing the movement as the one by the Maoist and adopting the same strategy of using police and administration to curb it. Such a wrong move would only complicate the situation. The state should persuade the Morcha to withdraw the strike and refrain from any move which can fuel the fire,” Bhattacharya said.

SNS: Former state urban development minister and senior CPI-M leader, Mr Asok Bhattacharya, today demanded that the tripartite Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) agreement signed in July 2011 should be reviewed immediately to ascertain how far the agreement has been implemented. 

He also warned the state government against tackling the Gorkhaland tangle the way it has been taking on the Maoist menace in Jungle Mahal. “Periodic review of the GTA agreement by the three stakeholders ~ the Centre, the state and GJMM ~ has been provided for in the agreement itself. Thus our demand for review is not out of place," Mr Bhattacharya said at a press conference in Siliguri. 

"Numerous instances of the agreement, both in its letter and spirit, being violated by the state government have come up. For instance, a clause in the agreement provides for the GTA youths to be considered for recruitment in the police, Army and para-military forces, subject to their suitability for such appointment. It is common knowledge that the GTA youth means the members of the Gorkhaland Personnel. But now police are after them. Many among them are now behind bars. Similarly, the agreement also mentions that all the cases except those related to murder charges will be withdrawn against the GJMM activists. But the police are arresting them on the basis of the old cases that include the Sipchu violence and police firing case, “he added. 

Mr Bhattacharya said the state government should come out of its mistaken belief that tackling the Left extremist menace in Jungle Mahal and dealing with the emotive statehood ferment in the Hills warrant the same measure and tactics. 

“If the state government thinks that it will curb the Gorkhaland movement on lines similar to the Maoist insurgency, it will prove to be a monumental blunder. The movement in Darjeeling is thriving on the emotion linked to ethnic identity. The state government has failed to understand the subtle nuances involved in the tangle. Sending senior police officers and tightening the grip of the administrative machinery over the developing situation might prove counter-productive. It is far from being a law and order problem. It must be dealt with on the right plane, “he added.

The senior Marxist leader also said the state government should follow the democratic norms to solve such tricky tangles. "This is why we are demanding an all-party meeting to be convened. Dialogue to be held in democratic ambience is the only way out,” he said. 

“The GTA experiment should not be allowed to go waste. The alternative is anarchy,” he added.