Mamata Banerjee rules out Gorkhaland, indefinite strike in Darjeeling

TNN, DARJEELING/KOLKATA: The Bengal government and Gorkhaland agitators headed for a fresh showdown on Wednesday after Mamata Banerjee ruled out the creation of a new state and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha responded by calling an indefinite strike in the Hills. 

Unlike in the past when it worked with Mamata to create the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the GJM indicated it no longer saw the CM as a friend in the renewed statehood stir as it decided to bypass the Bengal government and send a delegation to Delhi for talks. 

Aware of Mamata's strained relations with Delhi, GJM chief Bimal Gurung has decided to employ the same tactic as predecessor Subash Ghisingh, who ignored then CM Jyoti Basu and dealt directly with then home minister Buta Singh and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to take the Gorkhaland movement forward. 

Sensing the mood, Mamata accepted Gurung's resignation but warned of a tough crackdown on disruptive protests. "We have accepted his resignation. But the government is not going to dissolve the GTA, which is a product of a tripartite agreement (by the Centre, state and the GJM). Darjeeling is part and parcel of Bengal. We want our brothers and sisters in the Hills to live in peace. The government has taken up a lot of development projects in the Hills. The government will act tough if someone rakes up trouble three or four times a year, driving out tourists from Darjeeling," the CM said. 

The GJM, however, stood firm on its indefinite strike call from Saturday. It has set a 48-hour deadline for tourists and students in boarding schools to vacate the Hills. A six-member GJM delegation will leave for Delhi on Friday. "We will meet the UPA leaders and also opposition parties in Delhi to garner support for our cause," GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said. 

The indefinite strike call in the Hills fuelled commotion in the foothills and the plains, mainly in Siliguri. Groups opposing Gorkhaland like the Bangla Bachao Committee called a two-day market strike from Thursday to cut off supply line of rations to the Hills. The war of nerves may reach a flashpoint in the foothills like in the Eighties or in 2008 when the statehood movement triggered widespread violence. Siliguri is particularly volatile because the town is now home to a sizeable Nepali population. 

Mamata accused a section of senior Congress leaders of trying to fan trouble. "I have reasons to believe that three to four Union ministers are meeting the GJM delegation. They have been assured a Union territory status. I wonder how these ministers can say so keeping the state government in the dark. Is this child's play? I do not understand why Union government is behaving in a partisan manner by calling 3-4 persons of GTA to Delhi. The call has come from the highest office of a political party," the CM said. 

The CM also slammed the UPA government for taking a decision on Telangana with Lok sabha polls round the corner. "Before the last Lok Sabha elections, Telangana was announced by a political party. Why it is now being brought out as an issue just before Lok Sabha election? Telangana cannot be compared with Darjeeling. When everything is settled, why Delhi is insisting to disrupt peaceful situation and play with fire?" the CM said in a Facebook post.