Sixth Schedule Amendment Bill Will be passed in the Parliament by the end of March – Subash Ghisingh

Sukna, Pintail Village, Feb, 19: [Anil Roy] “Parliamentary Standing Committee has finished its discussion on the Sixth Schedule Amendment Bill and will be submitting its report to the Parliament on the 22^nd of February. The Budget Session is due to comment on the 24^th of February and the Sixth Schedule Amendment should be passed in this very session,” said a relaxed and optimistic looking Subash Ghisingh, the Caretaker Administrator of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and the President of Gorkha National Liberation Front. Referring to his Delhi visit, he said, “I have met almost all the political leaders in New Delhi and have convinced them that the Sixth Schedule Amendment Bill must be passed within this session of the Parliament. Ghisingh after his arrival from N. Delhi has been stranded at Pintail Village due to the blockade by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters. His security at the village is headed by Inspector General R. J. S. Nalwa of the North Bengal Police and Inspector General of Intelligence Gaurav Dutt. The authorities from the Bengal Government and from that of Ghisingh himself has stated that Subash Ghisingh will be staying for few days at Pintail Village to rest and finish some of his ‘personal work’. As to what these ‘personal works’ were remained undisclosed. When asked about the law and order situation in Darjeeling Hills, he said that ‘hunger strikes’ were being observed peaceful and that there were no major need to be concerned. Repeating at the conformity of the Sixth Schedule Amendment Bill, he said, “There is no doubt that the Bill will be amended within this session. The opposition has no idea of what is right and what is wrong and they were indulging in wrong propaganda against him. It is my job to make the people understand about the Sixth Schedule status and the Memorandum of Agreement. I do not like to give much importance to the Gorkha Janmuti Morcha for they are nothing more than a nuisance and rabble rouser. At this moment, Gorkhaland is not our main concern but the amending of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. I went to Delhi then traveled through Haridwar and Lakshmanjhula and hence am much tired. I will rest at Pintail village for some days.”

Between the Devil and his master the people have chosen the Devil

Subash Ghisingh was a number one crook, Bimal Gurung is a greater crook than him - Madan Tamang

Q. How would you like to make your stand in this present political turmoil?

A. I do not want to talk about anything. I invited you to talk with me because I had thought that we could just have a simple chitchat but I do not want to talk about anything. Haven’t I played with money? Haven’t I given money? I will tell you what the truth is. All people are doing now is running after money. So why should I talk now? What good will come out of it? I have been like a singer near the river during a picnic. I have left speaking to the people. I have also given up organizing political meeting. I am not discouraged but I am not a machine either. I am man made of flesh and bone. What I feel today is people who can’t understand the real truth and run after fake promises, what can I do? Who can help these people? What is the point? None of my words have ever been justified. Recently, I had met up with Prashant Tamang at the airport. He had a concert to attend at Jaigoan. He was sick and exhausted, singing at the mercy of a cough syrup. He was ultimately dragged out of the stage by the people. Prashant was never a singer. Let’s not talk emotionally. He was made a pawn and people did politics on him. Today, he can’t even say that he is sick. There were no one to receive him at the airport. Where have the people disappeared who had appeared to receive him months ago? These people have gone to support Bimal Gurung, a rowdy and a criminal. And as such, who will land up in trouble if not these Nepalese?

Q. Aren’t you being harshly critical of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha? Even Subash Ghisingh had not used such words that you are now using?

A. These were the very people who paid homage at the feet of such a fraud as Subash Ghisingh. I feel really dishearten and that is why I given up commenting on anything. I have become a sort of amusement.

Q. You are also one of the richest man of Darjeeling Hills.

A. Yes, but have I become rich by stealing. This is my hard earned money. I work hard. I never eat beetle nut and such things. I did not receive a penny from my father. I earned it all. There are so many that I helped and educated. I don’t want to brag around of my work and achievements.

Q. I just wanted your opinion on the current political situation prevalent in the hills?

A. Opinion! Politics! Is this politics? I am hearing of plans where they are trying to reorganize the Darjeeling District without Siliguri in it. They are negotiating secretly such things in Kolkata. I am absolutely surprised. Is this what they had gone to negotiate in Kolkata.

Q. What is your reaction to the Kolkata meeting between the Chief Secretary to the West Bengal Government Mr. Amit Kiran Deb and the delegation of Gorkha Jan mukti Morcha?

A. What meeting? Does anyone know what the meeting was about? Neither the Bengal Government nor the people who went from here to attend the meeting say anything about it.

Q. It has been said that the GJM went to meet the Chief Secretary with a three point program.

A. Yes, I read about it today. Why does the GJM want Subash Ghisingh to resign? It is the West Bengal Government which had extended his terms up till 24^th February. If Buddhadeb had been allowed to come to Darjeeling all these things could have been easily taken care of then. Even the Sixth Schedule bill would have been dismissed then. These people are only the agents of the Government. What good can come by talking about these things? What happened in 1986 is repeating itself today. What good can be achieved by me talking about these things when people cannot understand what is good and what is right? It is like playing harmonium to a bull. These people made a God of a crook. Subash Ghisingh siphoned so much of money from so many people but no body cared. And now they are doing the same thing, making a leader of an individual who is no one. He is a number one crook, a man who is illiterate, who doesn’t even have an educational background nor family background. Neither does he have any political experience. It seems now that he has even learnt put on tie and suit. What can be done of the people who make leaders of such man.

Q. Mr. Bimal Gurung has said that he would bring Gorkhaland by 2010 March, what do you have to say?

A. On what basis can he say that? Even the Prime Minister of this country can such that. This is simply a way to play with the emotions of the people. He [Bimal Gurung] is just a stooge, he is being told to say this and do this by people who are using him. This is nothing but propaganda.

Q. What about the ‘fast unto death’?

A. He [Bimal Gurung] panicked when his people were dying and that is why he hastily dispatched a delegation to Kolkata. Why did he have to resort to such political instrument as ‘fast unto death’ right at the beginning of the movement? This is some thing that you resort to when every thing else do not work. What has been the result of the meeting? Nothing! Everything is farce. They were in favour of the Sixth Schedule. I was the one to ask whether they were in favour of Sixth Schedule. I did two meetings in Kalimpong and Darjeeling and it was because of these meetings that they had to ultimately go against the Sixth Schedule Bill. You can’t really understand these people. If I had instead put my mind into something else instead of these politics I should have become greatly successful.

Q. How far do you think will GJM succeed with the programs that it has been pursuing?

A. There is a saying that gathering words will lead nowhere for a poet, it is important that he learns to gather emotions with his words. Similarly, gathering crowds will lead nowhere, when you don’t have political vision, political acumen, political experience, political knowledge and political background. By just understanding two types of cards you cannot call yourself a gambler. People made a mistake by banking on Subash Ghisingh and that led to a loss of two decades and now the people are banking a man worse than him [Subash Ghisingh]. God helps those who help themselves. I see that the future for the Nepalese people are bleak. Where has the world reached? India today strives to make the best scientist as the President, the best economist as the Prime Minister, we Gorkhas/Nepalese make the most celebrated of criminals as our leader. For twenty years we served Ghisingh now how long will we have to serve Bimal Gurung? One of the biggest fraud. There is great value of education, honesty and experience. In a society where such things are not valued what will happen of that society.

 

Q. You mean to say that Bimal Gurung and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha will not be able to achieve Gorkhaland?

A. These dramas are not new. We have been seeing similar dramas for last forty years. What will he be able to do? Nothing. He will raise hues and cries and ultimately be given the chance to rule and his boys will be because making money for themselves. Nothing will come out of this. What I say is let us all forget about Gorkhaland? Can you solve the water problem? No, you can’t. Gorkhaland is not a single man’s bogey, nor that of a single party, this is the aspirations of the entire population and have been so since almost a century.

Q. Can you then play the role of a responsible and vocal opposition?

A. Whom are we to oppose? We opposed Subash Ghisingh. These were the people who then threatened me when I was opposing Subash Ghisingh.

Freak Snowfall in Darjeeling between 3 pm to 3:15 pm

 HEAVENLY INTERVENTION OVER GARBAGE DISPOSAL!

Darjeeling, Feb 19: Darjeeling exprienced a freak snowfall as people frantically scrambled for all minute shopping due to indefinite strike from tomorrow. The garbage which had not been disposed of suddenly converted into heaps of snowmounds. As such children played on them mocking the Politics of Confusion that prevailed in the hills today.

Indefinite strike - is this the right move for GJM?

 INDEFINITE STRIKE! WILL THE GOVERNMENT SUFFER OR THE PEOPLE!

PEOPLE GATHER TO READ STRIKE POSTERS

Subash Ghisingh (Ar)rested at Pintail Village

Siliguri, Feb. 18: The man who used to shut down Darjeeling with a snap of his fingers was today shut out of the hills he once lorded over.

Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council caretaker-administrator Subash Ghisingh, who flew back from Delhi this afternoon, was forced to take shelter at a resort nearly 70km from the hill station as Opposition supporters patrolled the foothills to prevent his return.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha said party workers would keep round-the-clock vigil on all routes to Darjeeling so that the GNLF chief, who has been continuing as “caretaker without people’s mandate”, could not sneak in under cover of darkness.

The blockade meant Ghisingh’s brand of bandh politics — he once shut down the hills for 13 days in 1987 and capped it with a 40-day strike the next year — had come back to haunt him.

The Morcha said it would call an indefinite strike from February 20 if Ghisingh was not removed but left NH 31A, which connects Siliguri and Gangtok, out of the bandh’s purview.

The crux of the standoff lies in the demands for statehood, which the Morcha wants, and Sixth Schedule status, Ghisingh’s brainchild.

While Sixth Schedule status would give the hills more powers, they would remain part of Bengal. The Opposition, which includes the Morcha, claims it would only weaken the demand for a separate Gorkhaland.

The trouble started after the Centre’s go-ahead on October 1, clearing the decks for the formation of a Gorkha Hill Council. But the Sixth Schedule amendment bill, necessary because the special status was so far restricted to the Northeast states, had to be referred to a parliamentary committee after the BJP opposed it.

The four-month-old Morcha, which accuses Ghisingh of betraying the hopes of the hill people, claims it as a victory of sorts.

In Pintail, 3km from Siliguri, Ghisingh said he would “rest for a couple of days” before proceeding to Darjeeling.

The GNLF chief, who had touched down at Bagdogra airport around 2.30 after a “successful and fulfilling” visit to Delhi, left straight for Pintail Village, a cluster of cottages built for tourists.

It was the first time he had stopped here for a night’s halt on his return from a tour.

A 10 minute’s drive away, hundreds of Morcha supporters stood vigil at Sukna More on the way to Darjeeling.

After he reached Pintail around 3, Ghisingh went into a huddle with top north Bengal police officials.

“We have not heard of any traffic being blocked. So there is no reason to think that he (Ghisingh) had restrained his journey because of the agitation,” IG R.J.S. Nalwa said.

At Sukna More, where 400 Morcha supporters sat on wooden benches holding black flags, the protesters were adamant about not letting Ghisingh pass.

“This blockade will continue until we receive further directives from higher authorities,” said central committee member Bimal Dorjee.

In Pintail, Ghisingh said the “future of Darjeeling is through the Sixth Schedule and we are heading to get it”.

“The Union home ministry is conducting an internal discussion and will submit its report to Parliament on February 22…. I am hopeful that the bill may be passed by the next session of Parliament,” Ghisingh said.

“The chief minister (Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee) knows everything from A to Z. The state government will decide everything.” [The Telegraph]

Morcha supporters block key entry points

Darjeeling, Feb. 19: Hundreds of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters, including a large number of women, laid siege to strategic points in the hills to stop Subash Ghisingh from entering Darjeeling. [Inset: Ghisingh’s supporters shout slogans at Pintail Village after his return from Delhi on Monday. A Telegraph picture]

Carrying black flags, the agitators started thronging Ghoom-Jorebunglow, one of the entry points to the town, from noon when word came that the caretaker chief of the DGHC had boarded a flight from Delhi and was on his way to Darjeeling via Bagdogra Airport.

Later, a strong presence of Morcha supporters at Lebong nipped in the bud the possibility of Ghisingh boarding a helicopter from Bagdogra and landing at the army base there.

In fact, the Lebong-Singamari valley is now a Morcha bastion where the party headquarters is located. [Inset 2: An armed policeman stands guard outside Ghisingh’s cottage in Pintail Village. A Telegraph picture]

The supporters also gathered along NH31A to stop Ghisingh from going to Kalimpong.

Ghisingh’s decision to stop at Pintail Village near Bagdogra Airport and not head directly for the hills came as a shot in the arm for the Morcha protest.

“He is now scared because he knows that he has lost the support of the masses,” said Binay Tamang, the press and publicity secretary of the Morcha.

“Had he been confident of their support, he would have surely headed for home by now for he has no work in Siliguri,” Tamang added.

GNLF leaders, however, appeared unruffled and maintained that nothing could stop Ghisingh from coming to Darjeeling.

Indefinite Strike over the Hills starting tomorrow!

Darjeeling, Feb 19: Starting tomorrow, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha as called for indefinite closure across the hills. “We are forced to take this action, in order to seek for the removal of Subash Ghisingh from the post of the caretaker administrator of the DGHC and the annulment of the Sixth Schedule. The declaration has lead to a sudden increase in prices over the hills and a frantic shopping by the people.

Elected People’s Representative strikes against People – I will not give a drop of water – Buddha Yolmo

Darjeeling Feb. 19: In what could only be expressed as “this happens only in Darjeeling” the people of the town woke up to the news that they would be made to suffer for their allegiance to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. The new GNLF dominated Municipal Chairman Buddha Yolmo declared as soon as he took charge of the Darjeeling Municipality that all supply of water by the Municipality will be ceased indefinitely. He also said that garbage all over the town would not also be removed indefinitely. It may be noted that the people gheraoed the Municipality when the Municipal Elections was taking place. This uncivic reaction of the civic body is said to be a political reaction of the GNLF against the common people to refrain from supporting the GJM. People have been bracing themselves for hardships are now concerned about their very survivable. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has declared the Municipal election illegal. The GNLF and the Municipal Chairman have laid down three conditions for the withdrawal of their strike: “The Darjeeling Paathpasala (hawkers) Sangh has stopped paying taxes (from February 13). We want these people to give us in writing that they will start paying again,” said Yolmo. [Inset: Pema Buddha Yolmo]

The traders (474 of them), on the other hand, claimed that despite being owners of permanent structures, the GNLF-controlled board has not recognised their business and continues to collect daily taxes (Rs 10) labelling them as “hawkers”.

The GNLF also wants the Morcha flag that was planted atop the municipality to be removed. “Only the national flag can flutter from that tower,” said Yolmo. The third condition is that Morcha leader Dinesh Gurung should pay for the damages done to the municipality’s conservancy vehicles and to the building. On Saturday, the Morcha had led siege to the civic building, determined to prevent the election of the chairman. The GNLF alleged that Morcha supporters led by Gurung had broken windscreens and damaged some of the vehicles parked on the municipality campus.

“We will lift our indefinite strike only if these three conditions are met,” said Yolmo.

In Kolkata, Bengal home secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said the situation in the hills was “worrisome”. Ray, however, said tourists visiting Darjeeling are safe. Those feeling unsafe would be brought down to the plains, he added.

Asked if the government would appoint an administrator when Ghisingh’s tenure as caretaker administrator comes to an end on March 24, Ray averted the question and said: “This is a political decision.”

Municipal affairs minister Ashok Bhattacharyya described the Morcha agitation as destructive. “Tourism, education and the economy of the hills are suffering because of the Morcha blockade.”

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW?

1. Water is supplied once in every four or five days. Indefinite, closure of the supply of water could lead to chaos and major hardship among the people. (GNLF)

2. The 32 wards of the municipality generate about 62 metric tonnes of waste and on any normal day the civic body is able to lift only about 30 metric tonnes. Five days of strike could lead to more than 310 metric tones of garbage in the streets. (GNLF)

3. All the Government offices including the Post Offices are already under indefinite closure. The nationalized banks and the Post office would open twice a week. (GJM)

 

GJM’S REACTION:

1. Indefinite strike over the Hills starting tomorrow. But the decision is not confirmed and should be confirmed today.
2. There is great deal of anger among the people. “This is too much. Buddha Yolmo is banking too much on his ego. People might just drag him from his house and lynch him if he goes on with his threats,” said a lady filling water in her tank below Buddha’s house near Hotel Seven Seventeen.