Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday managed to catch the much-touted ‘Morcha bull’ by its horns by partially thwarting Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurng’s shutdown call even as the dawn-to-dusk Darjeeling bandh call given by him evoked a mixed response with most Government offices and services remaining functional.
More than 300 people were arrested for trying to forcibly shut down shops and establishments, the District Collector said adding some incidents of stone-pelting had been reported. However, private establishments, including schools and markets remained closed in many places even as supporters of both the GJM and Trinamool Congress, took out processions in the town.
For the first time in decades Darjeeling residents witnessed a different picture when Government offices reported about 96 per cent attendance as public servants defied GJM’s diktat and joined work.
Most Government vehicles plied in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong ferrying tourists to and from Siliguri, State Tourism Minister Gautam Deb who was camping in the Hills said.
“Earlier, people would stay indoors when outfits like GNlF or GJM called a bandh. But this time Mamata Banerjee made a new beginning by catching the bull by its horns. People responded to her appeal to join work not out of fear but because they are impressed by her developmental activities” Deb said.
For the first time a Chief Minister had posted three Ministers: Deb, Rabindranath Ghosh and James Kujur in three sub-divisions to ensure that public life functioned normally.
The GJM had called a bandh to protest against what Gurung called “a false claim made by the Chief Minister that her Government has allocated `4,000 crore to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.”
Gurung is also livid at the Chief Minister for her alleged “divide and rule policy” through which she has been creating community-based councils throughout Darjeeling and allocating funds to them by deducting the due share of the GTA.
The GJM sees in this a ploy to “divide the Hill people and break the very backbone of Gorkhaland movement the oldest such movement in the country.”
Despite the situation remaining peaceful, the administration has been put on alert. The Calcutta High Court also on Tuesday directed the West Bengal Government to ensure that life was not disrupted in the Darjeeling hills.