West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seems to have succeeded where the mighty Marxists earlier failed. If all goes as per plans, the Queen of Hills could well start smiling all over again.
The “rough and tough” Chief Minister’s blood and iron policy in Darjeeling seems to have yielded her a huge political victory ahead of the general elections — in so far as putting a lid to the Gorkhaland agitation is concerned.
Pushed to the brink by the State Government, the agitating Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has “for now” decided to drop the demand for a separate Gorkhaland State and concentrate on a “stronger Gorkhaland Territorial Administration with complete focus on development.”
“It (Gorkhaland) is not on our agenda right now,” senior GJM leader and MlA Harka Bahadur Chhetri told on Sunday adding his party was currently interested in making GTA a more powerful and effective institution. Curiously, the GJM leader’s statement comes barely a week ahead of the tripartite talks involving the GJM, State Government and the Centre.
Insiders also said Chhetri’s observations were a product of an unnerved GJM leadership’s conciliatory policy vis a vis a no-nonsense Chief Minister. Her tough handling of the pro-Gorkhaland agitation that peaked during August and September — in the wake of Centre declaring a separate Telangana State made the movement fall to bits, experts said.
About a thousand GJM workers and leaders including central committee member Benoy Tamang were thrown behind the bar. While the Government prepared to dig up past cases against party president Bimal Gurung the GJM leadership was forced to beat a hasty retreat, insiders said.
The Hill party’s capitulation came particularly when the Centre deserted it halfway after affording some kind of initial support as alleged by the Chief Minister. Chhetri said that the party would try to find out ways as to “how to make the GTA more powerful,” adding his party would “place our demand for bringing amendments to make the GTA powerful and effective.”
The chemistry between the GJM and ruling Trinamool Congress, two erstwhile allies that fought the 2011 State elections together had hit an all-time low with after Bengal Government clamped down on its agitating workers. However things improved after the Gurung pressed a few steps backwards in the face of an unrelenting State Government on the one hand and rising discontent among the Hill people against continuous bandhs on the other.
Soon the GJM showed signs of capitulation sending feelers to the State Government on its willingness to strike a compromise. The party which had for a brief spell got a separate seat in the State Assembly for its three sitting MlAs once again going back to the Treasury Benches sources said.
Sources in Trinamool Bhavan said the two parties were on the verge of “striking a deal after the tripartite talks.” The two outfits were likely to fight the 2014 elections together. “The Trinamool has substantial base in the Hills” said a senior GJM leader and “it would in the interest of both the parties to go to polls together.”