CM's Hills event may trigger fresh showdown.....मुख्यमन्त्री ममता ब्यानर्जीलाई इल्टाले कालेबुङको मेला ग्राउण्डमा सम्मान गर्ने

बिशेष प्रतिनिधी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ 29 अगष्ट 2013। ममता ब्यानर्जीलाई अहिले दार्जीलिङ पहाड चडने बहाना चाहिएको छ अनि उक्त बहाना लेप्चा समुदायले दिएको छ।
लेप्चा समुदायको संगठन ईण्डिजेनियस लेप्चा ट्राईबल एसोसिएसन(ईल्टा)ले मुख्यमन्त्री ब्यानर्जीलाई सर्बोच्च सम्मानले सम्मानित गर्ने कार्यक्रम रहेको कारण उक्त सम्मान थाप्ने बहानामा तिनी पहाड चड्ने निश्चित बनेको छ। 

ईल्टाको पूर्वघोषित उक्त कार्यक्रम सिलगडीको बाघाजतिन पार्कमा हुने भएको थियो। विशेष सुत्रले दिएको जानकारी अनुसार उक्त कार्यक्रमको निम्ति ईल्टाले अनुमति समेत प्राप्त गरिसकेको छ। तर दार्जीलिङ पहाडमा चलिरहेको छुट्टै राज्यको आन्दोलनले रुष्ट बनेकी मुख्यमन्त्री ममता ब्यानर्जीले आन्दोलित पहाडमा नै आफ्नो हूँक़ारले थन्को लगाउँन लेप्चाहरुको कार्यक्रमलाई दार्जीलिङ पहाडमा नै आयोजना गर्ने निर्देश दिईसकेकी छिन। 

तिनको निर्देशको कारण नै अहिले ईल्टाको कार्यक्रम कहाँ हुने भन्ने बिषयमा ईल्टाका पदाधिकारीवर्ग मुख समेत खोल्न मानेका छैनन।ईल्टाका अधिकारीवर्गलाई सम्पर्क गर्दा समेत फोन नउठाएता पनि यो कार्यक्रम 3 सेप्टेम्बरमा कालेबुङमा नै हुने भएको थाहा लागेको छ। कार्यक्रम बिषयलाई लिएर नै उत्तर बङगाल बिकाश मन्त्री गौतम देवसंग ईल्टाका पदाधिकारीवर्गसंग लगातार बैठक भएको थप सुत्रले बताएको छ। मुख्य मंत्री 2 सेप्टेम्बरमा दार्जीलिङमा आउने पनि सुत्रले बताएकोछ। 

सुत्रको भनाई अनुसार ईल्टालाई कार्यक्रम बिशेष दार्जीलिङको चौरस्ता अथवा कालेबुङको मेला ग्राउण्डमा गर्नु भनि निर्देश दिएको थियो। उक्त कुराहरुको आधारमा ममता ब्यानर्जीलाई सम्मान गर्ने कार्य कालेबुङको मेला ग्राउण्डमा नै हुने सम्भावना बडेर गएको छ। दार्जीलिङ पुलिसका अधिकक्षक कूणाल अग्रवाल आज साँझ कालेबुङ आएर अचानक मेला ग्राउण्डको जाँच गर्दै परिदर्शन गरेको घटनाले ममता ब्यानर्जी कालेबुङ आउँने आधिकारीक छिना फाना भईसकेको सम्भावना रहेको छ। यद्यपी यस बिषयमा पुलिस अधिकक्ष कूणाल अग्रवालले केही बोल्न चाहेनन। 

तिनी अचानक साँझ छ बजेतिर कालेबुङको मेला ग्राउण्डमा पुलिस दलबल सहित आईपुगेका थिए। यस अवधी तिनले मेला ग्राउण्डको चारैतिर घुमेर हेरे। यसरी अचानक आएर मेला ग्राउण्डको परिदर्शन गर्नाले ममता ब्यानर्जीकै कार्यक्रमलाई केन्द्रमा राखेर सुरक्षा व्यवस्था मिलाउँन उनि आएको हुनसक्ने सम्भावना पूर्ण रहेको छ।

TNN | Aug 30, 2013, KOLKATA: Chief minister MamataBanerjee's determination to attend a felicitation ceremony by the Lepcha community in Kalimpong may set the stage for yet another round of confrontation between the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the government. The chief minister said on Thursday that she would reach Darjeeling on September 2 to attend a programme by the Lepchas at Kalimpong the next day on September 3. 

The Lepchas would felicitate the chief minister for the formation of the Lepcha Development Board. 

"A section of GJM leaders had earlier asked the Lepchas not to hold the event at Kalimpong and the Lepchas had suggested the chief minister's secretariat that the programme be held in Siliguri instead," sources said, adding that the chief minister is now taking it as a challenge to attend the event at Kalimpong itself, the source said. 

Mamata said the GTA members had been asked to elect a chairman on September 4. "If we wanted, we could have set up the GTA board with the help of the five nominated members and nominated one of them as the chairman. But, we honour democracy and do not want the GTA chairman to should not be a nominated member and want him to be but an elected one." 

The post of GTA has fallen vacant since the stepping down of GJM president Bimal Gurung. 

The chief minister hoped that the people of Darjeeling would opt for peace and the tourism would flourish again. 

"Peace in the Hills should not be disturbed in the name of bandhs. The high court directive that asked that normality must not be disturbed should be followed," she said. 

Rejecting GJM's demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland, Mamata said the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration was formed to respect the sentiment for Gorkhaland."But a separate state is an impossible proposition. It came to the forefront after the statehood declaration for Telengana," she said. 

She also criticized Congress and BJP for creating trouble in the Hills. "Every time there is a parliamentary election, both BJP and Congress indulge in dirty politics for grabbing one parliamentary seat," she said. 

Governor M K Narayanan is now in Delhi to keep the Centre posted about the development in the Hills. 

He is likely to meet Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. 

The Centre, too, was worried over the Darjeeling situation as it was one of the signatories in the tripartite agreement on Darjeeling. 

Mamata asked insisted on the GTA executive committee to deliver in the field of development, claiming that 98% of the funds due to GTA has been allocated and almost all the departments meant for transfer has been handed over to GTA. 

She mentioned about departments like education, land, health, urban development and rural development. 

"But still, work is not done. You have to deliver, as enough funds have been sanctioned."


TT, Aug. 29: Mamata Banerjee today announced she would attend a Lepcha-organised felicitation programme in Kalimpong on September 3, her first visit to the hills since the latest phase of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-led statehood agitation began last month.

“I will go to Kalimpong on September 2 to attend a Lepcha event on September 3,” the chief minister said at Writers’ this afternoon.

In a Facebook post on August 20, Mamata had said she would go to Darjeeling in the first week of September but had not specified the dates or whether she planned to visit Darjeeling town or the district, of which Kalimpong is a part.

Officials in the chief minister’s secretariat had, however, said Mamata had instructed them to make arrangements for the programme in Darjeeling town’s Chowrasta between September 10 and 12.

Writers’ sources said today that two reasons had prompted the selection of Kalimpong as the venue.

“The chief minister did not want to further provoke the situation in the hills by ensuring that the felicitation is held in Darjeeling, the heart of the Gorkhaland movement,” a senior bureaucrat said.

He added that the Lepchas were reluctant to organise the event in Darjeeling as they feared it would drive a wedge between the community and the Gorkhas. “Moreover, the Lepchas have a strong presence in Kalimpong.”

Mamata today blamed “vested interests” for disrupting peace in the hills. “The situation was peaceful (after the GTA agreement). Some vested interests are disturbing peace in the name of Telangana. We want to see development in the hills. Every time before Lok Sabha polls, the Congress and the BJP are at play, vying for that one seat (Darjeeling),” the chief minister said.

Morcha leader Jyoti Kumar Rai, however, said the agitation was “not about one Lok Sabha seat, but about our identity and we want the support of all national and regional parties on this issue”.

Mamata said the election of the GTA Sabha chief executive would take place on September 4. “We could have placed a nominated member on top, but why should we? There are so many elected members, let one of them be elected to the post,” she said.

After Morcha chief Bimal Gurung resigned as the GTA chief executive in July, the party had wanted a nominated member to succeed him.

Although Mamata has always played down the significance of the use of the word Gorkhaland in the GTA, she today said: “They (Morcha) wanted the word Gorkhaland in the name of the GTA, we did that too. We made the GTA for them, included the word Gorkhaland and gave them what they needed for development. But we cannot give in to demands for a separate state. I will not budge from my stand. Bengal will not be divided. A separate state is not possible.”