GNLF meet plan in hills

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, Siliguri: The GNLF will organise public meetings across the hills from next month to apprise supporters that the Hill Area Development Committee is just an interim arrangement and has nothing to do with their principal demand for statehood.

Mahendra Chhetri, general secretary of the hill party, who is also vice-chairman of the committee, said on Tuesday that office-bearers of the committee will soon hold a meeting to chalk out its functioning and prospective plan of action to carry out development in hills.

"There is no question of deviating from the principal demand of our party. The state has initiated a bipartite dialogue with the hill parties and during the talks, we had placed our demand for a permanent solution for the hills. The state has admitted our demand but as it is not possible to come up with a permanent solution immediately. So, the state has formed the committee as an interim body. We have decided to hold public meetings from December," said Chhetri.

Earlier this month, the state had formed the committee and put GNLF leaders in it. Mann Ghisingh, the president of the party, has been made the chairman of the committee.

Political observers have termed GNLF's decision stand an "anticipated move."

"Following the state's announcement, a major section of the GNLF supporters were in confusion. There are even murmurs in the hills that the committee has been formed to pacify the GNLF leaders like the Binay Tamang lobby, which is running the GTA now. In such a situation, it is obvious that GNLF leaders will have to reassert their stand to prevent and propaganda and to retain their support base," said an observer.

That is why, he said, the meetings have been planned.

A political analyst based in the hills said Tamang and his associates had to face criticism, mostly from Bimal Gurung, BJP and even the Left, that they are acting at the "behest of the state".

"Now when the state formed this committee and inducted GNLF leaders in it, the latter were in a tricky situation," an analyst said.