Gyanendra can enter politics only if he corrects mistakes’

FROM PRESS TRUST OF INDIA (PTI)

Kathmandu, June 15 (PTI) Nepal’s deposed king would be allowed to join politics only if he “corrects his past mistakes,” a top Maoists leader today said, indicating the determination of the former rebels to hold Gyanendra responsible for his past deeds.

The 60-year-old Gyanendra handed over his crown to the government and left the Narayanhiti palace last week for the Nagarjuna palace, a forest retreat on the outskirts of the capital, giving little hint of his future plans.

“If Nepals ex-monarch Gyanendra Shah corrects his past mistakes completely, our party will be more than happy to allow him to join politics,” the Telegraph Nepal quoted Maoists’ deputy chief Baburam Bhattarai telling the Nepali Samacharpatra daily.

Soon after Nepal’s Constituent Assembly abolished the 240-year-old monarchy on May 28, the Maoist leadership had said that Gyanendra would have all the rights enjoyed by a common citizen, including the right to business and enter politics, if he accepted the verdict of the people gracefully.

However, soon after Gyanendra quit the Narayanhiti palace last week, Bhattarai said the new government will order a fresh probe into the 2001 palace massacre in which the entire family of former King Birendra was killed in mysterious circumstances and also investigate whether the deposed monarch had any foreign bank account.

Many have accused Gyanendra for the massacre despite a government probe holding crown prince Dipendra responsible for the killing in Narayanhiti. Nepal’s last king quit the royal palace with an emotion-charged speech in which he rejected accusation that he had a role in the massacre.

GJM for tripartite talks, readies for shutdown

FROM MSN

Kolkata: The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, spearheading the movement for a separate Gorkhaland state, today said it was ready for talks with the Centre and the West Bengal government. Meanwhile, the GJM braced up to enforce an indefinite shutdown in the Darjeeling hills from tomorrow after a 60-hour break.

“We want a tripartite meeting on our demand and (External Affairs Minister) Pranab Mukherjee had yesterday spoken of talks. The problem is a political one and we want a political solution,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told PTI.

He said the GJM was not invited by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to the all-party meeting on their demand on June 17, but the leadership was contemplating a parallel all-party meeting soon.

The decision was taken yesterday at a meeting of GJM’s central committee where Bimal Gurung and all GJM unit secretaries were present.

Giri said relay hunger strikes would be also be organised from tomorrow all over the hills to coincide with the bandh with batches of seven GJM members undertaking the fast alternately.

Giri said the Dooars and Siliguri would be exempted from the bandh.

Indefinite Darjeeling bandh to resume tomorrow

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Kolkata/Siliguri, June 15 (PTI) The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, spearheading the movement for a separate Gorkhaland state, today said it was ready for tripartite talks with the Centre and West Bengal government even as it braced to enforce an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills from tomorrow after a 60-hour relaxation.

GJM press secretary Benoy Tamang said Dooars and Siliguri would be kept out of the ambit of the bandh but there would be relay hunger strikes at selected spots in the two areas from tomorrow. Also tea gardens, cinchona plantations in Kalimpong and all schools and colleges would be kept out of the purview of the bandh, Tamang said.

National Highway 31-A linking Siliguri with Sikkim would also remain closed.

Tamang said the bandh had been relaxed since 4 pm on June 11 to 6 pm on June 16 to facilitate easy exit of tourists from the hills, allow people to buy food and essentials and honour the West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi’s letter requesting the GJM leadership to help restore peace and normalcy. General secretary Roshan Giri said batches of seven GJM workers would undertake the relay fast alternately. “We want a tripartite meeting on our demand and (External Affairs Minister) Pranab Mukherjee had yesterday spoken of talks. The problem is a political one and we want a political solution,” Giri told PTI.

He said the GJM was not invited to the all-party meeting on their demand on June 17 but the leadership was contemplating a parallel all-party meeting soon. The decision was taken yesterday at a meeting of the GJM central committee where Bimal Gurung and all unit secretaries were present. Left Front chairman Biman Bose today ruled out participation by any of the constituents in any parallel all-party meeting organised by the GJM without inviting CPI-M.

Unrest in Darjeeling Hills

 

Mainstream Vol. XLVI No 26

Editorial 

The situation in the Darjeeling hills has once again deteriorated with an indefinite strike to project the demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland paralysing life and leaving countless tourists stranded. As we go to press there are signs of further detrioration with the disturbing prospects of ethnic clashes breaking our between activists of the Gorkha Janmulti Morcha on the one side and the Amra Bangali outfits of Bengali chauvinists on the other in Siliguri. In this scenario the authorities have been forced to deploy not only the RAF but also the Army in Siliguri; this was inevitable because any delay in this regard could have been a recipe for disaster. However, what is necessary is not just prompt measures to deal with the law and order problem but urgent steps to politically resolve the basic issue that relates to redressing the legitimate grievances of the local populace.

One vividly remembers the Gorkhaland movement that took shape in 1979 with the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) launching an armed struggle under Subhas Ghising’s leadership to spearhead the same demand for a separate State although the clear-cut distinction between a State within the Indian Union and the secessionist move for an entity outside the country was often sought to be blurred by the leaders and activists in the movement at that stage. However, a decade-long agitation yielded the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) in 1988 and this was the vehicle that was intended to ensure genuine autonomy for the region while guaranteeing its economic, social, cultural and educational development.

There is no doubt that under Subhas Ghising the DGHC became totally ineffectual and turned into a hotbed of corruption, there having been no elections to it since 2004—indeed with Ghising as the Chairman it was transformed into a fiefdom as the local people’s problems and grievances began to mount.

The proposal to grant Sixth Schedule status to Darjeeling should have been allowed to materialise as this would have provided not only greater autonomy to Darjeeling but also ensured legislative and executive powers on the lines of what the district councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura enjoy. True, there was opposition to this proposal from within the GNLF itself but the State Government too used every means to stall the process of translating this idea into a reality. The State’s indifference on this score was matched by the Centre’s apathy and unconcern for the public grievances and people’s aspirations.

Autonomy carrot for hills

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Calcutta, June 14: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said the hills people’s grievances about lack of development were genuine, and offered to replace the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council with another body with more powers if the demand for a separate state was dropped.

“I am ready to discuss further autonomy for the hills, except a separate Gorkhaland. We don’t mind if the (Gorkha Janmukti) Morcha, which has rejected the DGHC, wants us to scrap it and replace it with a more autonomous mechanism of self-rule, of course with the approval of the Centre,” the chief minister told a Left Front meeting.

Bhattacharjee received support for his stand on Gorkhaland from foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee. “The central government does not want to support a separate state in Bengal,” the Congress minister said here. “If the Morcha wants to have talks with us, we are ready. But they have to come without preconditions.”

Morcha chief Bimal Gurung said the fact that Mukherjee himself had not set any precondition was “encouraging”.

“We are most willing to hold talks with the Centre,” said Gurung. “We believe that Pranab Mukherjee has not set any preconditions and we can definitely discuss a lot of issues, including Gorkhaland.”

He had yesterday rejected the chief minister’s offer of talks on June 18, a day after the all-party meet on Darjeeling.

Bhattacharjee told the Left allies that Mukherjee’s stand was the same as what Union home minister Shivraj Patil had told him. “The Centre is also opposed to Gorkhaland but prefers a cautious approach in dealing with the movement in view of the sensitive demographic composition and strategic location of the hills,” he said.

The state would consult the Centre on tackling the hill agitation, unlike the Gorkhaland movement of the eighties, he added.

Bengal siphoning money meant for panchayats’

FROM FINANCIAL EXPRESS

Political Bureau

New Delhi: A conference on panchayats, organised by the Congress, took potshots at the Left Front in West Bengal on Friday, accusing them of subverting democracy at the grassroot level by siphoning funds meant for Panchayati Raj.

‘‘West Bengal is the Left’s citadel in India and in its long rule in the state, Left parties have taken the fullest advantage of the process of devolution of powers for their own benefit,’’ Manas Bhuiyan, a representative of the West Bengal Congress said, while addressing the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Convention organised by the AICC and chaired by panchayati raj minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.

Bhuiyan accused Left parties of siphoning off money meant for panchayats to build their own party offices. ‘‘When they came to power, they had only 200 party offices in the state. Today, they have 72,000 party offices. And there are no buildings for schools in the state,’’ Bhuiyan said. He further claimed that the Left parties have diverted funds meant for the NREGS for party activities during the recent Panchayat elections.

Meghalaya asked to pay Langpih men for illegal detention

FROM PTI NEWS

Shillong, Jun 15 (PTI) Amid the stand-off between Assam and Meghalaya over the disputed Langpih area, the Gauhati High Court has directed the Meghalaya government to pay compensation to three Langpih residents who were detained illegally for over eight months. A bench of the court headed by Justice J Chelameshwar and Anima Hazarika directed the Meghalaya government to pay Rs one lakh to each the three Nepali-speaking people. Rambahadur Chetri, Deependra Limbu and Tarabahadur Gurung were picked up by Meghalaya police from Langpih on May 14, 2004 and were kept in detention for over eight months. After their release, the victims moved the court alleging that they were detained without any reason, nor any trial initiated against them before being convicted after a four-day lock-up. They also alleged that Meghalaya police had detained them for residing in Meghalaya illegally. The court, in its judgement on Friday, termed the detention illegal and violation of Article 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty). The judgement comes in the backdrop of both the states forming a joint committee to resolve the border dispute between them. The committee is scheduled to submit its report within six months. PTI RTJ NN HJ 06151242 DEL

Tea industry worried over Darjeeling unrest

FROM PTI NEWS

Kolkata, June 15 (PTI) Tea industry has expressed serious concern over the political unrest at Darjeeling, fearing this could affect exports in a big way. Tea Board Chairman Basudeb Banerjee told PTI that the industry was very worried over the situation prevailing in Darjeeling. He said that if such things continued for long, then export of Darjeeling tea would be seriously affected. Banerjee said that although production was normal in the hills, movement of tea was affected due to the bandh called there recently.
While Darjeeling produced 9.5 million kg of tea, production this year would be marginally lower, Banerjee said. Darjeeling tea had been also accorded geographical indication (GI) in India and in a few other countries. Banerjee said 60 per cent to 70 per cent of Darjeeling tea was exported, while the balance was consumed domestically. Continued agitation in the hills would affect movement which would turn would affect exports. PTI

‘We cannot be wished away just like that’ – Subrata Nagchoudhury

From Indian Express

Rising from humble origins, Bimal Gurung has gone on to capture the imagination of the Gorkha community. The man sells the dream of a separate Gorkhaland for in the hills—Bimal Gurung—comes from a humble background. Born to parents who were tea garden workers at Takvar valley, Gurung belongs to the Singmari area in the northern outskirts of Darjeeling town. Having to support his family at an early age, Gurung had to make do with just primary education. He tried several odd jobs, from driving tourist jeeps to working as a contractor. In fact, his days as a driver gave him a solid following among transport operators who now form a large chunk of his support base. Soon after the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) was launched in the early 1980s, Gurung joined it and soon became one of Subash Ghisingh’s most fierce fighters. Prior to the tripartite agreement between the GNLF, the West Bengal Government and the Central Government in 1988, Gurung heeded Ghising’s call for surrendering arms, giving up his two firearms and several grenades. As a result, he was absolved of about 43 criminal cases that included among others, arson, rioting and murders.

Gurung was often described as an “iron bar” on account of his immense strength but apparently Ghising never gave him the importance he deserved.

It soon became evident to Gurung that he would have to shape his own destiny and so he started concentrating on social work. Those who have followed his career say he became a “hero” in the Lebong-Takvar valley area because of his social commitment. If there was a wedding in the village, he would arrange funds, if someone fell ill, he would ensure they got medicines. He also arranged financial aid for the elderly in the area and looked after the welfare of tea garden workers.

BIG PICTURE – FOR A HOME AND AN IDENTITY

From Indian Express

By Subrata Nagchoudhury

The Gorkhas’ demand for a separate state is fuelled by a desire to establish their political identity as Indians. As the over two-decade long struggle acquires a never before seen urgency, many in Darjeeling believe the time has to come realise their goal. Subrata Nagchoudhury reports from the battlezone

Even as dusk descended on a riot-hit Siliguri town on Thursday under the marching boots of security forces and with army units standing by, Darjeeling witnessed a different spectacle. Thousands of Gorkha men and women, youth and the elderly, marched in silence along the streets of Darjeeling to converge at the Mall, enveloped in mist under a moist monsoon sky. They all held candles close to them and each held a wish that has been long cherished and buried in the Gorkha consciousness: a separate state of Gorkhaland. Their aspirations spoke through the silence.

Occasionally, a microphone burst into life with a vibrant, pulsating tune: “Hamro mang, Gorkhaland/ Gorkhaland, Gorkhaland/Sabko Mang Gorkhaland/Gorkhaland (We all want Gorkhaland)”.

Centre open to talks, but no Gorkha state: Pranab

From The Times of India

KOLKATA: Turning down Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s request to hold talks with West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha on Saturday reiterated it was open to a tripartite dialogue involving the Centre only if the central issue was Gorkhaland.

GJM secretary Roshan Giri said, “We haven’t received any formal communication from the external affairs minister. But we have made our point clear. We are interested in a tripartite meeting and nothing else. We will go to Delhi for talks on a one-point agenda – Gorkhaland. We will go to Delhi to meet Central government leaders and tell them our grievances.”

Earlier in the day Mukherjee gave a shocker to GJM leaders when he rejected the demand for Gorkhaland. “There is no question of creating a separate state of Gorkhaland. The Centre doesn’t want further disintegration of the state.” But, he said, the UPA government was open to talks with agitators without any pre-condition.

Later in the day, Union minister and West Bengal Congress chief Priya Ranjan Das Munshi spoke in a similar vein. “We are against division of our state. GJM chief Bimal Gurung may have some genuine issues that he wants to sort out within the ambit of the constitution.

We can always have a discussion on such issues like giving more economic power to the Hill authorities.”

With the GJM not invited for talks, and main opposition party Trinamool Congress staying away from the Tuesday’s all-party meeting, Buddhadeb isn’t likely to make much headway in breaking the impasse in the Hills despite main parties like Congress and BJP too rejecting the demand for a separate state.

Meanwhile, the chief minister is working on a resolution he will be placing in the meeting to end violence in the Hills and plains. Buddhadeb will finalise the draft after consultations with the Left Front ministerial

core committee.

Centre, GJMM ready for talks

From Statesman News Service

KOLKATA, June 14: A day after the Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha rejected the offer of parleys with the West Bengal government, Union external affairs minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee said the Centre was ready for a meeting to discuss its demands. The statement was quickly welcomed by the Morcha, which said its leaders would go to Delhi to air their grievances. Mr Mukherjee, who briefly met chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today, said here that the Centre was ready to hold a tripartite meeting without any pre-conditions on the GJMM’s demands. He however, said: “there is no question of creating a separate state of Gorkhaland.” (Speaking to PTI in response, the GJMM general secretary, Mr Roshan Giri, said: “We are ready for talks with the Centre. At the same time the government should not think that Gorkhaland is a separatist demand.” “We will go to Delhi to meet Central government leaders and tell them of our grievances,” he said. GJMM president Mr Bimal Gurung, who had rejected the chief minister’s offer of talks yesterday, reiterated that he would not sit for talks with Mr Bhattacharjee. “No, no I will not go. If at all I have to go I will go to Delhi and talk with the Centre.”) Despite this rebuff, the Left Front has entrusted the chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to keep open the channel of dialogue with the GJMM leadership for any future meeting. The chief minister has already met Mr Gurung twice and we are looking forward to the third meeting, Mr Biman Bose, Left Front chairman, said after a Left Front meeting during the day. Asked why the GJMM has not been invited to the all-party meeting on the Gorkhaland agitation scheduled to take place on 17 June, Mr Bose said Mr Gurung has not yet formed any political party and the organisation he heads is part of a movement. This was immediately contradicted by Mr Giri. Speaking to PTI from Darjeeling, he said: “Of course, ours is a registered party.” Mr Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, Union minister and PCC chief, too said Mr Bose’s contention is baseless as the GJMM happens to be the principal agitating organisation in the hills at this moment. It would have been better if it had attended this meeting, as the other participants would be made aware of the GJMM’s views, he felt. Mr Das Munshi, who said that he would himself represent his party in the all-party meeting, felt that the Trinamul Congress should not stay away from the meeting. This would only encourage the supporters of Gorkhaland, Mr Das Munshi said. The Union minister and PCC president, Mr Das Munshi, said matters had worsened owing to the chief minister’s shortsightedness. He should have taken initiative much earlier to “contain the situation”, the state Congress chief felt. On the other hand, after voicing their concern yesterday over the decision of the CPI-M not to invite GJMM chief Mr Bimal Gurung to the all-party-meeting, Left Front partners, including the Forward Bloc and the CPI fell in with the decision at today’s Left Front meeting.

Water crisis hits hospitals

From The Telegraph

Calcutta, June 14: The SSKM and Medical College hospitals are reeling under a water crisis that has forced doctors to postpone surgeries through the week. “We are facing terrible problems. The surgeries are being pushed back. In the OPDs and emergency, we are not getting water even to wash our hands after examining patients,” a doctor at the Medical College and Hospital said. According to sources, the reservoirs at SSKM and the Medical College are not getting filled to capacity as the pumps have stopped working because of electrical snags. Several toilets, in the wards and other areas, in both hospitals have been temporarily closed. “The departments of surgery, gynaecology and paediatrics at the Medical College are bearing the brunt. The situation in SSKM is slightly better,” a health department official said today. Officials in both the hospitals said, on an average, five to six planned surgeries were being postponed everyday. “Some temporary arrangement has been made by bringing water from outside sources,” said S. Banerjee, the director of medical education, but that does not seem to be enough. Hospital officials have informed the PWD about the snags in the pumps. “We have informed the PWD,” said a senior official of the Medical College.

Hills & plains breathe easy – Morcha safe passage to students for summer vacation

From The Telegraph

Food items being offloaded in Kalimpong on Saturday. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

June 14: Shops and schools in Siliguri opened today and prohibitory orders were relaxed in the subdivision, which reported no violence.

“The situation is absolutely normal across the subdivision. No untoward incident was reported during the day,” said Smita Pandey, the subdivisional officer (SDO) of Siliguri.

“We have decided to relax Section 144 (of the CrPC, dealing with unlawful assembly) in Bagdogra, Naxalbari and Siliguri,” she said.

“The prohibitory orders have been relaxed from 2pm to 8pm in Siliguri, and from 7am to 7pm in Bagdogra and Naxalbari.”

Pandey said the administration would take a decision tomorrow on withdrawing the prohibitory orders and the central forces that are on standby, but only after consulting the police.

Siliguri resident Ranjit Thapa said: “Seeing the bustle in the town today, it is tough to believe that the situation had turned so violent just a day ago.”

Shops and establishments had been shut in many areas yesterday and both government and private vehicles had stayed off the roads.

Today’s Photo Feature – Lull before Storm and Water, water every where but not a drop to drink

Gorkhas and Bengalis mingle peacefully at a Siliguri Bazaar.

Photo by Bikram Sashankar (Himalaya Darpan)

Pranab says yes to talks, no to Gorkhaland

FROM CNN-IBN

Kolkata: The Centre is willing to hold talks on the crisis plaguing the hills of north Bengal , but not on the divisive demand of Gorkhaland.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has ruled out the possibility of dividing West Bengal to create a separate state of Gorkhaland in north Bengal as demanded by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

“We are not in favour of any separate state. We don’t want any dismemberment of the state,” Mukherjee said in Kolkata on Saturday.

Mukherjee, however, said the Centre was ready to hold talks with GJM.

The Left Front also met in Kolkata on Saturday to discuss the crisis in the hills of north Bengal over the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

The Front met after GJM leaders rejected Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s offers for talks on Friday.

All the other Left Front constituents in West Bengal – Communist Party of India (CPI), Forward Bloc (FB) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) also reached a consensus that the GJM should not be invited for June 17 all-party meet.

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and Left Front Chairman Biman Bose confirmed that an all-party meet will be held on June 17 to resolve the crisis and added that GJM has not been invited, as it was not a recognised party.

“All the Front constituents have agreed that the GJM cannot be called for the June 17 all-party meet since it is not a recognised party. Only the recognised political parties will take part in the meet. Even during the Gorkhaland agitation in 1985, when veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu was the chief minister, GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh was not invited in the meeting,” Bose said.

The West Bengal Congress will also attend the June 17 all-party meet

West Bengal Pradesh Congress Working President Pradip Bhattacharjee said, ” We will take part in the June 17 all-party meeting, called by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, but we will not accept any condition. ”

Centre agrees for talks with Gorkha leaders

FROM NDTV

In the mid eighties, when the issue of Gorkhaland first came up, it transformed Darjeeling, one of India’s biggest tourist destinations into a dysfunctional and tense town.

Today, the situation is much the same and the deadlock remains the same.

The turmoil over the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state has now shifted to Kolkata. The Centre on Saturday agreed to talk to the Gorkhas on anything but Gorkhaland.

”There is no question of considering statehood, if they want to come to talks, we will entertain them but without any conditions,” said Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister.

The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha is not about to give up on its main demand.

”They want a tripartite meeting with the Centre participating. The agitation will resume from Tuesday, June 17,” said Bimal Gurung, leader, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha.

The Left Front on Saturday said it was united on the issue and ruled out inviting the Gorkha leader to the all party meeting.

”Bimal Gurung doesn’t have a political party, this meeting is of political parties so the question raised of his invitation has been ruled out,” said Biman Basu, chairman, Left Front.

Troubled times for Brand Buddha, Singur, Nandigram, Rizwanur and now Gorkhaland, the last issue promises to be a prolonged one with Gurung preparing for an intensified agitation, a throw back many feel to the mood of the eighties.

At a meeting earlier on Saturday, the Left front had buried its differences over the Darjeeling crisis and asked Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to persuade Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung to come for talks on June 18.

ACT withdraws indefinite hunger strike against hydel projects

FROM PRESS TRUST OF INDIA (PTI) Photo by Weeping Sikkim

Gangtok, Jun 14 (PTI) The Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), an apolitical organisation, today called off its indefinite hunger strike against the proposed hydroelectric power projects in Dzongu region after the state government scrapped four of the plants to mollify agitators.

“The ongoing indefinite hunger strike by ACT activists against the Dzongu power projects stands withdrawn in reciprocation of the state government’s decision to scrap hydel power projects at Rangyong (141mw), Lingza (120mw), Ringpi (90mw) and Rukel (33mw),” the ACT’s Chief Coordinator Tseten Lepcha told reporters here.

It has, however, decided to continue with the relay hunger strike and satyagraha till the Panun hydel project (300 mw) was also scrapped by the state government in deference to the local people’s sentiments for protection of the rich bio-diversity of the Dzongu region, he said. [Insets: Strikers]

Lepcha thanked all political parties, social organisations and others for extending their moral support to ACT’s prolonged agitation demanding rollback of all hydel projects in North Sikkim, particularly around Dzongu – a region largely inhabited by the indigenous Lepcha community who revere mountains as dieties.

The body has been agitating against the hydel projects in dzongu region in north sikkim since June 20, 2007.

Decorated army men to return medals in protest

New Delhi, Jun 14 (PTI) War Gallantry award winners of the armed forces nationwide will return their medals to President Pratibha Patil soon to protest the measly raise in the monthly monetary allowance the government announced last month. “The executive committee of the War Decorated India (WDI), a nationwide organisation representing the winners of gallantry medals such as Param Vir Chakra (PVC), Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) and Vir Chakra (VrC), has resolved to return the medals in protest against the piddly raise,” WDI general secretary Capt (retired) Reet M P Singh said today. [Inset: Teesta Stage V Dam at Dikchu]

Coming soon after armed forces veterans’ protest march to seek a better deal for both serving and retired officers and ranks from the Sixth Pay Commission, their protest has all the potential to rattle the UPA government. Soon after a stormy WDI executive committee meeting which ended in Chandigarh, Singh, who is a VrC winner from the 1965 Indo-Pak war, said the committee members were loud in their protest against the paltry hike announced by the government. On May 14, the government had announced a 100 per cent hike to the monthly allowance that it paid to the gallantry award winners.

“Doubling of the paltry sum already being paid is like doubling the number zero. It amounts to nothing,” Singh said, voicing the views of 13 of the 18 WDI executive committee members. Brig (retired) Sant Singh, an octogenarian former officer currently based in Chandigarh and a winner of MVC two times, is the president of the WDI. Only five others from the 210 MVC winners have won the second highest war-time gallantry medal twice. Another prominent member of WDI executive, Brig (retd) Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri of ‘Border’ movie fame could not attend the meet, as he was abroad.

Centre willing for talks with GJM

Kolkata/Siliguri, June 14 (PTI) The Centre today expressed its willingness for a dialogue with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, which in turn declared that Gorkhaland was not a separatist demand.

Stating that the government was willing to talk to the GJM, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who held a brief meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, however, said: “there is no question of creating a separate state of Gorkhaland.” Responding to Mukherjee’s statement, GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told PTI from Darjeeling “We are ready for talks with the Centre. At the same time the government should not think that Gorkhaland is a separatist demand.

“We will go to Delhi to meet Central government leaders and tell them of our grievances,” he said.

GJM President Bimal Gurung, who rejected Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s offer of talks yesterday to restore normalcy in the hills and speed up development work there, reiterated that he would not sit for talks with Bhattacharjee.

“No, no I will not go. If at all I have to go I will go to Delhi and talk with the Centre.

Nonetheless, the Left Front entrusted the chief minister the task of opening dialogue with the GJM.

“The rejection of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s invitation to the GJM to attend a meeting on June 18 here does not mean the process of discussion is over,” Left Front chairman Biman Bose said.

Cong to join all party meet on Darjeeling

Kolkata, June 14 (PTI) The Congress today said it would attend the June 17 all party meeting convened by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to discuss Darjeeling situation, but said it would have been better had the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha also been called. [Inset:  Priyaranjan Dasmunshi. Source: Indian Net Zone]

“Political parties could have listened to the GJM leadership’s view if they were present and tried to convince them about the unity of the state,” WBPCC president and union minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi told a press conference.

Asked about the Left Front’s decision to keep GJM out of the all party meeting, Dasmunshi, who had appealed to the state government earlier to hold it, said it was not the correct approach because GJM was in the centre of the agitation.

Speaking after an emergency meeting of PCC which discussed the Darjeeling issue, he blamed the Left front government for the situation. “Things have come to such a pass because it did not accept the reality.

GJM ready for talks with Centre

Gorkha Janamukti Morcha says it is ready for talks with the Centre, asserting it should consider that Gorkhaland is not a separatist demand.

Kolkata, Jun 14 (PTI) After rejecting the offer of parleys with the West Bengal government, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha today said it was ready for talks with the Centre and that Gorkhaland should not be considered a separatist demand.

“We are ready for talks with the Centre. At the same time the government should not think that Gorkhaland is a separatist demand. It is within the framework of the Constitution,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told PTI from Darjeeling.

Replying to a question, Giri said, “We will go to Delhi to meet Central government leaders. We will tell them our grievances when we meet them.” On Left Front chairman Biman Bose’s contention that the GJM was not a registered party and that was why it was not invited to the all-party meeting on June 17, Giri said, “ofcourse, ours is a registered party.” Earlier, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here that the Centre was ready for talks with the GJM without preconditions.

He also said that there was no question of creating a separate state of Gorkhaland.

Meanwhile, GJM president Bimal Gurung said in Darjeeling that he would not sit for talks with the West Bengal government.

Centre rules out separate state of Gorkhaland

Kolkata, Jun 14 (PTI) The Centre today ruled out any possibility of carving out a separate state of Gorkhaland from West Bengal as demanded by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), but said it was ready for talks.

“There is no question of creating a separate state of Gorkhaland,” External Affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce here.

The government, he said, was ready to hold talks with GJM, but without any precondition.

He also held a brief meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee on this issue during the day.

The GJM has renewed the demand for Gorkhaland originally demanded by GNLF chief Subhas Ghising before settling for the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.

Pranab has word of advice for West Bengal CM

Kolkata, June 14 (PTI) External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today asked West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee to tread the path required to be followed in participatory democracy. [Inset: Pranab Mukherjee. Source : Indian Parliament Database Sys]

Stating that factories and roads could not be built in the skies, Mukherjee said that land was required for this, for which the state government should share the roadmap prepared by the industry and commerce department with all responsible members of society.

Speaking at the annual general meeting of Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce here, Mukherjee said, “We must follow this path.” Mukherjee’s statements assume significance in the light of recent setbacks received by the CPI(M) in panchayat polls in Nandigram and Singur where land acquisition has emerged as a burning issue.

“After our experience in Singur and Nandigram, we must be careful and come out with a proper rehabilitation package,” Bhattacharjee said. PTI

LF entrusts Buddha to open dialogue with GJM

Kolkata, Jun 14 (PTI) West Bengal’s ruling Left Front today entrusted Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee with the task of opening a dialogue with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha so that a solution to the Darjeeling imbroglio could be found.

“The GJM’s rejection to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s invitation to attend the meeting on June 18 here does not mean the process of discussion is over,” Left Front chairman Biman Bose told reporters after a meeting of the Left Front committee.

The Left Front has asked the chief minister to continue his initiative to hold talks with GJM president Bimal Gurung, Bose said.

He ruled out any invitation to the GJM at the all-party meeting on June 17 in Kolkata on the ground that the meeting could be attended only by representatives of political parties.

He said that the GJM was spearheading the movement but it was not a registered political party and hence did not qualify to be invited to the all-party meeting.

He said that in 1985, when the Gorkhaland movement first surfaced under the leadership of Subash Ghising, an all-party meeting had been convened by the then chief minister Jyoti Basu.

“But I have not seen Ghising or any of his representatives being invited to the meeting”.