Shinde appeals to call off hills bandh.....Contempt plea against strike

SNS, Siliguri, 3 September 2013: Providing the GJMM and its pro-statehood allies the face-saver they had been desperately seeking, the Union home minister Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde has appealed to them to call off the bandh to pave the way for a tripartite dialogue to defuse tension in the Darjeeling Hills around the issue of statehood. 

He made the appeal when the six-member delegation under the banner of the Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee (GJAC) called on him in New Delhi today. 

The GJMM president, Mr Bimal Gurung, said in Darjeeling that his party and the conglomerate would deliberate on the request after the delegation returns to Darjeeling. The observers said there is little option for the beleaguered GJMM and its allies but to withdraw shutdowns. 

“Sandwiched between the Centre’s perceived nonchalance and the state’s all-out crackdown, the party would have to get off the high horse and devise a new formula to carry on the struggle for statehood while keeping life normal in the Hills”, an observer said. 

“With the state government bent on stonewalling even any mention of Gorkhaland, it is most unlikely that the issue of statehood would figure during the tripartite meeting”, the observer also said. 

“The agenda would perhaps be the progress regarding implementation of the GTA accord. It is to be seen how the GJMM which has hyped the issue of Gorkhaland to histrionic pitch would reconcile itself to reality,” the observer added. The GJMM general secretary, Mr Roshan Giri, said: “We met the Union home minister. He requested us to call off the stir.” “He assured us that he would take initiative for holding the tripartite talks in case we withdraw the shutdowns,” Mr Giri further added. 

He further said he had informed the party president Mr Bimal Gurung about the outcome of the meeting. “Now it is for him to take a final call,” Mr Giri said over phone from Delhi.

Contempt

TT, Calcutta, Sept. 3: A contempt petition was filed in Calcutta High Court today seeking action against Bimal Gurung and other Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders for violating an earlier court order against the strike in the hills. 

The petition was filed by advocate Ramaprasad Sarkar, who had moved the PIL, demanding a ban on the bandh in the hills. The contempt petition will come up for hearing on Thursday, a high court source said. 

TNN, DARJEELING: A contempt petition was filed against GJM president Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri on Tuesday, accusing them of flouting the Calcutta high court order on bandhs. 
On August 7, the HC had directed the state government to ensure normal life in the Hills and ordered GJM not to disrupt the process.
On August 14, the court warned that any agitation that disrupted life in the Hills would be deemed a violation of the HC order. 
The petition asks for a rule of contempt against Gurung and the others. It is likely to be heard again on September 5.