Darjeeling : In a bid to show who rules the roost in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is taking the battle to Darjeeling in September.
She has asked officials to arrange for a tour from September 10-12, a day after Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung said in a rally that only its “hukumat (regime)” runs in the hills.
According to sources in the state secretariat, Mamata called up senior officials in middle of her one-day visit to Guwahati on Friday and asked them to organise the tour.
While Lepchas, another indigenous hill tribe, have invited her for a felicitation after she set up the Lepcha Development Board recently, the chief minister is using the opportunity to show the GJM that she can be “rough and tough”.
The state government has come down heavily on the pro-Gorkhaland movement by arresting more than 700 people, including number of top GJM leaders, since a prolonged agitation was launched on August 4. Sources saidthat the Lepchas were planning to hold the ceremony at Siliguri, away from GJM’s influence to avoid any conflict, Mamata insisted that the programme be held at Darjeeling Chowrasta, the most prominent intersection in the hills.
“She is the chief minister of West Bengal and she wants to send out the message that no one can dictate terms in her state. She’s also steady on her stand that no bifurcation of the state will be allowed,” a senior official said.
Mamata has instructed officials to prepare her itinerary in such a manner that after the Lepcha ceremony she can hold a meeting of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).
The autonomous hill council has remained headless since Gurung resigned on July 30 and the state government wants to elect a new chief from among the 45 elected members to GTA, without giving the GJM chief much of a chance to disrupt things.
DH News Service
The GJM, however, announced on Saturday its decision to not attend a GTA meeting on September 4, where fresh election will be discussed.
As the GJM’s indefinite shutdown entered its fourth day, normal life remained paralysed with shops, markets, government offices, banks, post offices and educational institutes closed.
She has asked officials to arrange for a tour from September 10-12, a day after Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung said in a rally that only its “hukumat (regime)” runs in the hills.
According to sources in the state secretariat, Mamata called up senior officials in middle of her one-day visit to Guwahati on Friday and asked them to organise the tour.
While Lepchas, another indigenous hill tribe, have invited her for a felicitation after she set up the Lepcha Development Board recently, the chief minister is using the opportunity to show the GJM that she can be “rough and tough”.
The state government has come down heavily on the pro-Gorkhaland movement by arresting more than 700 people, including number of top GJM leaders, since a prolonged agitation was launched on August 4. Sources saidthat the Lepchas were planning to hold the ceremony at Siliguri, away from GJM’s influence to avoid any conflict, Mamata insisted that the programme be held at Darjeeling Chowrasta, the most prominent intersection in the hills.
“She is the chief minister of West Bengal and she wants to send out the message that no one can dictate terms in her state. She’s also steady on her stand that no bifurcation of the state will be allowed,” a senior official said.
Mamata has instructed officials to prepare her itinerary in such a manner that after the Lepcha ceremony she can hold a meeting of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).
The autonomous hill council has remained headless since Gurung resigned on July 30 and the state government wants to elect a new chief from among the 45 elected members to GTA, without giving the GJM chief much of a chance to disrupt things.
DH News Service
The GJM, however, announced on Saturday its decision to not attend a GTA meeting on September 4, where fresh election will be discussed.
As the GJM’s indefinite shutdown entered its fourth day, normal life remained paralysed with shops, markets, government offices, banks, post offices and educational institutes closed.
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