Barla bid to rein in Morcha exodus

The Telegraph

BIRESWAR BANERJEE & AVIJIT SINHA

Bimal Gurung, John Barla Siliguri, Sept. 5: Adivasi leader John Barla today spoke to disgruntled Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders from the Dooars and Terai who have quit the party, requesting them not to leave the hill outfit. Barla today talked to Padam Lama and Ganesh Allay, who said yesterday that they had quit the Morcha, and a few other leaders over phone. Lama and Allay had resigned as the president and the secretary of the Morcha’s Dooars committee and dissolved the panel, saying the party leadership was indifferent to the cadres in the plains after the formation of the GTA. Many cadres who resigned from the Morcha in the plains have joined the Trinamul Congress. “There was a communication gap between the Morcha leaders in the plains and the top brass in the hills, leading to a misunderstanding. Today, I talked to the Morcha leaders like Padam Lama Ganesh Allay and urged them not to leave the party. We will hold a meeting with them and other Morcha leaders in the Dooars on Friday and listen to their grievance. We will request them to stay in the Morcha as the panchayat polls are round the corner,” said Barla. The tribal leader, who joined the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, will have to pull out all stops to make sure that the Gorkha outfit’s base in the plains remains intact. According to observers, Barla knows well that he would be the main loser if the Morcha’s strength dissipates in the plains. “Barla had announced that the JMM would contest the panchayat polls after forging an alliance with the Morcha. If more leaders quit the Morcha, Barla would be left with little support in the Dooars. After Barla’s expulsion from his parent organisation, the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad, he has been counting on the Morcha,” said an observer. Barla had last month drawn the attention of Morcha president Bimal Gurung to the pent-up anger of cadres in the Dooars and Terai. He asked the Morcha leadership to focus on the plains and redress the grievances of the supporters there. The adivasi leader today said he would again impress upon the Morcha leadership the need for concentrating on the cadres in the plains. “A meeting has been scheduled with the Morcha president in Darjeeling for Sunday. When I meet Morcha leaders from the Dooars on Friday, I would urge them to join me for the trip to Darjeeling. I would specifically mention the reasons cited by the Morcha office-bearers in the plains for their resignations during the meeting with Gurung and drive home my point that it is imminent for the party to concentrate on the plains,” said Barla. But many more disgruntled Morcha members have expressed their intention to join Trinamul. “Its better for us to join Trinamul to meet our demands like land rights and development of the Dooars and Terai. Since we are outside the purview of the GTA, it is clear that the Morcha can’t do much for us,” said a Morcha member. On its part, Trinamul said it was waiting for instructions from the leadership regarding the expansion of the party in the Dooars and Terai. “We have submitted a report to railway minister and Trinamul leader Mukul Roy on the current political situation in the Dooars and Terai. We will apprise him of the strengths and weaknesses of the party and our trade union and areas where we can pull the Gorkhas and the adivasis to our fold,” said a Trinamul leader in Jalpaiguri district. “The party is also finding out the responsibilities and posts which could be given to those who leave the Morcha and join Trinamul. We are waiting for an instruction from the leadership on the inclusion of more members in Trinamul,” he added.

 

 

 

Dooars Morcha leaders resign

The Telegraph

VIVEK CHHETRI

John Barla Darjeeling, Sept. 4: Two leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the Dooars have quit the organisation and dissolved the committee in the plains, disappointed with the party’s perceived indifference towards the region after the formation of the GTA. Padam Lama, the president of the Morcha’s Dooars committee, said he and Ganesh Allay, the secretary of the Dooars committee, had resigned and dissolved the committee. Lama said today: “I have tendered my resignation from the party and so has Allay. We have also dissolved the Morcha’s Dooars committee.” He alleged that the Morcha leadership in the hills had forgotten the party workers in the plains after the formation of the GTA. “During the 44-45-month-long agitation, it was the people in the Dooars and Terai who had to face difficulties as not all in the plains were in favour of statehood, unlike in the hills. In the hills, it was relatively easy during the agitation. The hill leadership first talked about Gorkhaland, then they settled for the GTA and we also supported their decision to go in for elections,” Lama said. “However, after the formation of the GTA, they neither call us nor discuss with us any party activities.” Lama said the Morcha leaders in the plains were finding it difficult to reach out to their supporters. “We have nothing to show our supporters. How do you expect us to mobilise our supporters in the plains as the GTA is now only for the hills?” he asked. “The funds that will come to the GTA cannot be used in the plains. Even the panchayat elections are nearing but we have nothing to show to our supporters,” Lama said. That resentment was brewing among the Morcha’s office-bearers in the plains was hinted by adivasi leader John Barla during his visit to Darjeeling recently. Barla had said at a programme that the Morcha leadership should remain in touch with the cadres in the plains. The resignations would also hurt Barla, whose Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Morcha are planning to fight the coming panchayat elections jointly in the plains. “A strong and an active Morcha would have meant that Barla would have been assured of some support. With resentment in the rank and file of the Morcha growing in the plains, Barla should be a worried man today,” said an observer. The Morcha’s disenchantment in the plains could mean gain for the Trinamul Congress. Sources said several Morcha cadres had joined Trinamul recently. Lama, too, admitted that many from his party had shifted to Trinamul. “I have decided to stay at home and take care of my business but many cadres have started joining Trinamul,” Lama said. Chandan Bhowmik, the Jalpaiguri district Trinamul president, said he was aware of the Morcha developments in the plains. “We have always said people who had formed and joined any organisation after being frustrated at the Left Front government’s neglect of the Dooars should join hands with us for the sake of development of the region under Mamata Banerjee’s rule,” Bhowmik said. Trinamul insiders, however, said talks were in progress with some Morcha leaders at a local level. “Many of them have expressed their willingness to join our party as they are disappointed with their leaders’ silence after the formation of GTA,” said a Trinamul leader. “Considering the present state of affairs, we are sure that the Dooars will see a complete political change ahead of the panchayat polls,” he added. Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri confirmed the resignation of the two leaders. “We will sit for a meeting soon and we will definitely form a new committee. We have supporters in the Dooars,” is all that Giri said on the issue.

 

 

 

Morcha seeks N-E tax relief – Gurung and team meet pranab and shinde

The Telegraph

VIVEK CHHETRI

President Pranab Mukherjee with Bimal Gurung at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday. Telegraph picture Darjeeling, Aug. 23: A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha delegation met President Pranab Mukherjee and Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde in Delhi today and asked for an extension of all tax benefits, subsidies and tax holidays to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration similar to what the northeastern states get. The seven-member delegation led by GTA chief executive Bimal Gurung also demanded Scheduled Tribe status for all Gorkhas except those from the Schedule Caste community, recruitment of Gorkha youths (Gorkhaland Personnel) and a one-time grant for administrative infrastructure of the hill set-up. The one-time grant was mentioned in the memorandum of settlement signed by the Centre, state and the Morcha. “Our delegation met the President and the Union home minister today. We have demanded that the GTA should be given all the tax benefits, subsidies and tax holidays enjoyed by the northeastern states, although we are not members of the North East Council,” said Roshan Giri, an executive member of the GTA and also the general secretary of the Morcha. He said the delegation told the Centre that the GTA region was as backward like the northeastern states and deserved special concessions. “We have demanded that all Gorkhas, except the SC community, should be given tribal status and have also asked for the release of a one time grant for setting up the GTA secretariat, administrative offices and quarters for GTA Sabha members. We believe that more than Rs 100 crore would be needed to put the administrative infrastructure in place. A request has also been made for immediate release of the Rs 200 crore package for the GTA,” Giri said. The GTA memorandum states Rs 200 crore would be provided to the hill set-up annually for three years for development work. According to sources, Shinde has assured the Morcha delegation that the Centre will extend all help. The department of industrial policy and promotion has extended a number of incentives and concessions to the Northeast. According to the website of the ministry of development of north eastern region, there is a scheme for the region, under which subsidies of 50 to 90 per cent are given to entrepreneurs on transportation costs of raw material and finished goods from designated rail routes to industrial units. In 1996, the Centre had announced that at least 10 per cent of the annual budgets of all central ministers and their departments would be earmarked for the development of the northeastern states. Integrated Infrastructure Development Centres in the Northeast have been declared tax-free zones. All industrial activities in these areas are free of income tax, excise duty and get exemption in sales tax and municipal tax subject to the respective state government’s approval. In the tourism sector, schemes have been extended to the northeastern states like LTA for central government staff to visit the region. On the issue of granting ST status to all Gorkhas except those who have a Scheduled Caste status, sources said over 100 cases of communities wanting an ST status were pending in the ministry of tribal affairs.

 

 

 

Morcha seeks tea arrears

The Telegraph

A STAFF REPORTER

Calcutta, Aug. 22: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today asked the government to immediately clear the wage dues of 600 labourers in three state-owned tea gardens in Darjeeling and ensure better housing and water supply for all those employed in the sector. The demands were raised at a meeting between commerce and industries minister Partha Chatterjee and a Morcha delegation led by GTA chief executive Bimal Gurung at the Gorkha Bhavan here this morning. The Morcha leaders told Chatterjee that 600 labourers in the three gardens owned by the West Bengal Tea Development Corporation weren’t paid wages according to the new rate since April 1 last year when it was increased from Rs 67 to Rs 90. “The minister was not really aware of this delay and assured us of quick action with regard to the arrears,” said a Morcha source. Gurung also asked Chatterjee to ensure better housing and water supply for tea garden labourers through the panchayat department. “We were told that the panchayat department is in the process of finalising its implementation plans for such schemes,” said a Morcha leader. Later in the day, another Morcha delegation led by general secretary Roshan Giri met chief secretary Samar Ghosh at Writers’ Buildings. Although neither Ghosh nor Giri commented on the meeting, calling it a “routine administrative” discussion, Writers’ sources said the transfer process of various departments, assets and accounts to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Sabha had figured in the talks. “The government aims to complete the process by August 31. The Morcha wanted to know how it was being done and what the process was like,” said an official. The Morcha, which is new to the task of administration, also sought inputs from the chief secretary on various aspects of governance for the day to day running of the GTA. “They sought the chief secretary’s assistance and guidance regarding some administrative processes which they are not familiar with. The government is providing every assistance as far as this is concerned. The GTA will need some handholding in its initial days,” said the official.

 

 

 

Buddha: Freedom of speech has become a joke in the state

statesman news service

KOLKATA, 16 AUG: Attacking the Trinamul Congress-led state government, former chief minister and CPI-M Politburo member Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said that freedom of speech and the existence of a free press in the state has become a joke.

“This government policy is  that only one voice should be heard. And if anybody wants to express an independent view, all efforts will be made to silence it. Freedom of speech and the existence of a free press in the state has become a mockery,” said Mr Bhattacharjee, addressing a gathering on the golden jubilee celebrations of the CPI-M state committee’s mouthpiece, Deshhitaishee.

Mr Bhattacharjee also questioned the funding of various media companies that have cropped up in recent times.

“We know that ill-gotten funds from chit funds are behind  media ventures. We will protest against these chit fund companies, who are duping innocent and ignorant people, mostly in the villages. ”

Politburo members Sitaram Yechury and Biman Bose said the entry of mega-corporations in the media sector has changed the scenario and  the Communist party must confront the onslaught of the market-driven media’s campaign on multiple levels.

It’s a new challenge, but the party must counter this attack of ideological and cultural hegemony, they said.

 

 

 

Babel of blame rips at ‘mini-India’ – Morcha demand brings to fore old misgivings among communities in Dooars & Terai

The Telegraph

BISWAJIT ROY IN SILIGURI

A tea garden in the Dooars Gorkha, Adivasi, Bengali or Bhutia, they have lived side by side for generations in the Dooars and Terai since their forefathers migrated in colonial times to this sub-Himalayan region of north Bengal to work in tea gardens, railway hubs and business towns, if not always without misgivings. Old-timers recall how the Independence movement and the advent of democracy and Left politics had shaped the political aspirations of communities and classes, cutting through the rough edges of ethnic identities. Even the Darjeeling hills witnessed all-community farmer and labour movements. But the misgivings of old have morphed into fear and suspicion and split communities along ethnic lines in recent decades, threatening to unsettle the social equilibrium in a region dubbed a “mini-India” because of its demographic and linguistic diversity. Local people across communities rue the latest rupture in the socio-cultural landscape following the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s claim on a substantial area of the Dooars and Terai for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). A blame game, however, continues among the politicians and community leaders. Factions of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad are at loggerheads over the Morcha demand and its impact on inter-community relations. Rajesh Lakra, the Nagrakata-based secretary of the Parishad’s Doors-Terai regional committee, blamed the Morcha and the pro-Morcha Parishad leaders. He said his outfit would have collaborated with the Morcha “on issues of regional development” had the Morcha dropped its demand for a Gorkhaland state and renamed the GTA that denotes “domination of Gorkhas”. “We have experienced Bengali domination. Why another?” he said. He is also angry with the Morcha for demanding tribal status for all Gorkhali-speaking people, which “is aimed at taking away our constitutional rights and facilities”. “It’s a fight for our existence as the Morcha is claiming a large part of the Dooars, We have cordial relation with the Gorkhas at the tea gardens but the hill leaders are vitiating the situation.” The Banarhat-based John Barla, leader of the pro-Morcha Parishad faction, said he had opposed the Gorkhaland demand but now wanted inclusion of tea garden areas in the GTA for “speeding up development for the tribals”. He said he had entered into an agreement with the Morcha after chief minister Mamata Banerjee ruled out a demand for a separate development council for the tribals in the Dooars and Terai. “Our support for the Morcha has brought back peace between Gorkha and tribal workers,” he claimed. Referring to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Shibu Soren’s meeting the Morcha leadership and subsequent opening of a JMM outfit in north Bengal, Barla warned of an agitation for a separate tribal homeland in the Dooars and Terai if the government failed to implement the GTA agreement. Lakra accused the GTA agreement of lacking provisions for reservation of seats and jobs or land rights for the tea tribals while Barla claimed to have an agreement with the Morcha on these issues but would not reveal details. Morcha leader Harkabahadur Chhetri said his party would stand by the constitutional and legal provisions for the tribals but the details would be sorted out after the GTA territory was finalised. He dismissed the fear of Gorkha domination. “If that is true, why are so many adivasis supporting us,’’ he said referring to the Barla group. While both Parishad factions claim to be representing the majority of the tea tribals, ordinary villagers and tea workers are perplexed. “Adivasis are divided on the question of inclusion in the GTA. We are in two minds as we know little about its possible impact on our daily lives,’’ said Ajit Chickbaraik, a worker at Trihannah tea garden and Congress member of the Maniram panchayat in the Naxalbari area. In Birpara, the elderly Shera Minj from Nangdala tea estate shared the complaint of a young Gorkha student about the rounds one needed to make of the panchayat and block offices to get a caste certificate issued, thanks to the babus. “Yes, we live together in the gardens and suffer in the same ways. But I am not sure things would be better for tribals under the GTA,” he said. Smaller communities have little choice. In the Gorkha-dominated MM Terai village of 250-odd families close to Siliguri, 30-40 households of Bhutias, Odiyas and plains tribals have settled recently. Nobody bothered to ask their opinion. “We too aspire to the recognition of our identity,” the middle-aged Sonam Pincho Bhutia said. Bengalis in the Dooars and Terai are generally averse to inclusion in GTA areas. “Both Bengalis and Gorkhas are getting more jobs and other facilities in comparison with the smaller communities. But Gorkhaland and later the GTA issue have created unnecessary fissures among us,’’ Gouranga Bhattacharya, a middle-aged businessman and RSP supporter in Rajabhatkhawa bazar said. Not every Bengali sees it the same way, though. “I have no problem if my area becomes part of GTA territory,” said Ranjit Sarkar, a teacher at the Hindi-medium Naya Basti SSK in Buxa. Politicians from mainstream parties consider the Morcha claims on the Dooars and Terai as a source of social tension. “There was hardly any ethnic tension during the GNLF movement since it was limited to the hills. But social relations have deteriorated after the Morcha began demanding the Dooars and Terai,” former CPM minister Asoke Bhattacharya said. Recalling how he had taken the initiative to transfer 18 mouzas close to Siliguri to the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 2000, he said he wouldn’t mind if some more mouzas were added to the GTA. But, he said, even some Gorkhali-speaking people in Purba Kalaibari, Samsing and Chalauni, among the five mouzas recommended by the Justice Shyamal Sen Committee for inclusion in the GTA, were averse to it because of the inconveniences they would face in their daily lives. Bhattacharya joined Lakra in accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of allowing “the social tension to linger” by forming a fact verification committee following the Morcha’s rejection of Sen’s recommendation. Debaprasad Roy, veteran Congress MLA from Alipurduar, insisted that the “multi-ethnic character” of the Dooars and the Terai be retained. Ethnic relations in north Bengal have been further vitiated by politics over the alleged influx from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh over the decades. Bengali-specific groups are worried about the “huge demographic destabilisation following infiltration of Gorkhas and Bhupalis” (Gorkhas ousted from Bhutan) and “its geo-political impact in border areas”. But they refuse to see the Bangladeshi inflow through the same prism when their critics from other communities complain about it. “We have filed a petition in the high court seeking a review of the India-Nepal treaty and checks on the influx from Nepal and Bhutan. However, we consider migrants from Bangladesh as refugees,” Debaprasad Kar of the Siliguri-based Jana Chetna said. Bhattacharya and other Bengali mainstream politicians such as the Congress’s Roy mentioned the “huge growth in the Gorkhali-speaking population in comparison with the decline of smaller communities”. But they distanced themselves from these smaller groups. “We can’t be irresponsible like these groups. But the situation may deteriorate if the Morcha strengthens its campaign for the inclusion of more areas,’’ the Trinamul minister for north Bengal development, Gautam Deb, said. “At the same time, we don’t want the Morcha to accuse us of denying justice to Gorkhali-speaking people. That’s why the chief minister is continuing the political process with them along with development projects,” he added.

 

 

 

Parishad & rebels resent state apathy

The Telegraph

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Siliguri, Aug. 5: The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad and its breakaway group today aired similar resentment about perceived indifference of the state towards the Dooars and Terai while the hills got the government’s attention. “We have been consistently ignored by the state government which prioritises the hills more and has dealt with their problems. This has left us disappointed us,” said Birsa Tirkey, the state president of the Parishad, today. “Now that the GTA has been formed, it is time that the state turns its attention to the Terai and Dooars, where people are living in worse conditions than those in the hills,” he said. “We want the government to focus on development of these areas and meet the tribals’ demands for land rights, opportunities for education, employment and health.” He warned that “if Mamata Banerjee and her government continue to remain lackadaisical and keep ignoring us, we would be left with little option but to hit the streets to mount pressure on the government”. According to the tribals, even though over a year has passed since Mamata became chief minister, nothing much has been done for the Dooars and Terai. “Only a plot has been identified for a college in Banarhat and a few schools have been upgraded,” said Rajesh Lakra, the general secretary of Dooars-Terai regional unit of Parishad. “Our basic demands of providing land rights to lakhs of tea workers, improvement of communication facilities and generation of employment have not been met. Everyday, it is getting difficult to restrain our workers who are pointing to the allocation of funds for the hills when no funds are coming for us.” The Parishad dissidents’ group, which wants the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to induct John Barla into the GTA, also spoke of the state’s indifference. “Even if Barla is included into the GTA Sabha, it will not serve any purpose as he cannot bring funds from the GTA for the Terai or Dooars,” a leader in the dissident group said. The north Bengal development, Gautam Deb, said the government was aware of the resentment in the Dooars and Terai. “In due course, Terai and Dooars residents will find implementation of an array of welfare projects.”

 

 

 

Inauguration of Siliguri police commissionerate postponed

2 August 2012

statesman news service
SILIGURI, 2 AUG: The Siliguri police commissionerate, which wassupposed to be inaugurated tomorrow by the chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee, has been postponed till 6 August.
The north Bengal development minister, Mr Goutam Deb today said the chief minister would inaugurate the new police set- up in Siliguri on 6 August before leaving for Kolkata from Darjeeling. However, he refused to divulge the reason behind the sudden postponement of the inauguration.
The senior police officials in Darjeeling district said they have received no government confirmation yet on the matter.
However, preparation has been going on in full swing at police line at Mallaguri.  “We have not received any communication from the DGP office from Kolkata, confirming the inauguration,” said a senior police official on the condition of anonymity. The DGP office is also in the dark.
“We have not received any order. Unless and until we receive the communication it is not possible for us to pass any order to the Darjeeling police,” sources from the DGP office said from Kolkata. Another police officer said the police commissionerate after it is inaugurated would begin functioning from the make-shift office for the time being.