Gurung softens on 'minor' divisions

Calcutta, Aug. 3: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung today said after a meeting with chief minister Mamata Banerjee that his party was willing to set aside "minor differences" to cooperate with the government, indicating that the party would not insist on the government keeping on hold the bifurcation of Jalpaiguri district till the territorial jurisdiction of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration was settled.

Earlier in the day, Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri had said that at today's all-party meeting he had asked the government not to bifurcate Jalpaiguri to create a separate Alipurduar district till the issue of the territorial jurisdiction of the GTA was sorted out.

But a few hours later, asked if the Morcha would continue to insist that Jalpaiguri not be bifurcated till the GTA's territory was worked out, Gurung said: "Madam (Mamata Banerjee) is doing so much for us after 34 years. She has given us a tangible dream of development, besides the GTA. We can set aside some minor differences to co-operate with the government and not obstruct it in what it wants to do."

However, the government did not take any decision on the bifurcation following dissenting views at the all-party meeting.

Ever since The Telegraph, on Saturday, reported the government's plan to divide Jalpaiguri and the other districts for administrative purposes, the Morcha has been protesting against Jalpaiguri's bifurcation till the GTA's territory is settled since it expects to get parts of the Dooars and the Terai which are a part of that district.

But Gurung's meeting with Mamata in the evening, in which Giri was also present, seemed to have changed the equation.

A source in the cabinet said the chief minister convinced the Morcha to fall in line with the government on the bifurcation of Jalpaiguri.

"This government is doing more than any government has done for the hills since Independence. The chief minister asked the Morcha to appreciate that and set aside such minor differences. The Morcha was told to understand how much co-operation it was receiving from our government and therefore it should reciprocate accordingly," said the minister this evening.

In the all-party meeting, the Morcha had also demanded that GTA should be split into two districts.

"Population should not be the only criterion for creating new districts. Topography, lack of development and infrastructure should also be considered. Proximity to the international border also has to be taken into account. Darjeeling should be divided into two districts," Giri had demanded.

By the end of her meeting with Gurung, Mamata had been able to dissuade the Morcha from pursuing this demand as well.

"The Morcha was clearly told that there was no question of dividing Darjeeling at the moment and the government expected it to not create any new trouble on the issue. The Morcha leadership agreed," said a Writers' source.

At the meeting with Mamata, Gurung also discussed some details of the GTA agreement and the question of the administration of the reserve forests in the hills.

The reserve forests are under the Centre's jurisdiction but the Morcha wants them to be transferred to the GTA's supervision.

"We told Madam our views on the same. We will take up the matter in our meeting with the Union home secretary soon," said Gurung.