Round 2: Mamata agrees to key demands; statehood not on table

Pinak Priya Bhattacharya | TNN | Sep 13, 2017, SILIGURI: CM Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday dangled some conditional carrots in front of the Hills parties in the second round of talks to end the Darjeeling impasse. The carrots, to be offered if the Hills parties met some conditions, were accompanied by some stick as well. The government — on a stronger footing now than it was when the first round took place a fortnight ago — made it clear there would be no compromise on the Hills' most important demand: a separate Gorkhaland state.

"Darjeeling is and will remain a part of Bengal. Having said that, there is a desire and an aspiration for the people here for Gorkhaland; people are entitled to these views in a democratic set-up. I feel the dialogue process should aim to find a permanent solution. We cannot have agitations surfacing every 20-25 years and disrupt life," Banerjee said after the meeting at Uttarkanya in Siliguri.

The government's approach evoked mixed signals from the Hills parties, with GJM chief Bimal Gurung sounding his usual belligerent self — and vowing that the shutdown would continue — and the opposing faction (led by Binay Tamang) leaving things open-ended.

The talks, which did not lead to an immediate withdrawal of the shutdown as many had hoped, seemed to have deepened the wedge within the GJM, the Hills' dominant party right now, and succeeded in isolating Gurung a little more. Rebel leader Tamang handed over to the CM a 17-point charter of dem-ands and signed it as the GJM chief coordinator; three senior GJM leaders, including Darjeeling MLA Amar Singh Rai and Kalimpong MLA Sarita Rai, who till date were echoing Gurung, chose not to disagree with him publicly. Tamang then replied carefully to a question on the bandh. "I leave it to the people to decide when the bandh should be withdrawn. People should decide on whether a bandh or a political battle is the correct path for Gorkhaland."

Gurung differed sharply with this view and released an audio tape from an undisclosed hideout later in the day: "The strike will continue till there is a tripartite meeting. We have not suffered for three months for nothing. There is only one agenda for talks and that is Gorkhaland. I am relentlessly pursuing this with the centre to find a solution. I hope our political strategies will bear fruit in the long run."

Banerjee had, during the meeting, made three clear offers for an immediate end to the three-month shutdown: one, compensation for the families of those killed or people who injured during the strife; two, a high-level enquiry into the alleged police firings and excesses; and, three, an extended window for students in the Hills to get admission to universities in Bengal.

There were other sops as well. State home secretary Atri Bhattacharya would examine whether the criminal cases slapped against agitators — as well as leaders — could be withdrawn, Banerjee said, promising to set up a group of ministers (including law minister Malay Ghatak, food minister Jyotipriyo Mullick and tourism minister Gautam Deb) to recommend measures on implementation of the Minimum Wages Act for workers in tea gardens and cinchona plantations. The first meeting of the GoM, she said, would be held on Thursday.

She also left enough legroom for agitating Hill parties to manoeuvre on the other key demand for tripartite talks with the centre. With the Gorkhaland Territorial Authority defunct and being run by an administrator, the legalities under which such a meeting could be called needed to be examined, Banerjee said, adding that the government would spell out its views in the third round of the bilateral dialogue, scheduled for October 16 in Nabanna.

Banerjee hoped the third round of talks would be able to draw more Hills outfits to the dialogue table. "We had five parties attending today. This gives me hope," she said.

The CM's conciliatory approach met with approval from the other parties. Jan Andolan Party's Harka Bahadur Chhetri said: "If people decide that the bandh should be withdrawn, we will fight with all our might against those who try to impose it." The primary takeaway from Tuesday's meeting was the chief minister's clarity, he said. "She made her stance known. But she is also willing to accommodate ours. This should be respected," he said. Another pro-Gorkhaland party, the Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League, has already broken ranks with the Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee.