Following the electoral trouncing that Trinmool Congress got in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb had offered to resign, but Mamata Banerjee had rejected his offer. Following which Mr. Deb has been traveling across the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency to analyse the political situation.
In a move which has astounded political observers in North-Bengal, the NBD Minister Mr. Deb said he will place a demand with the high command of his party, Trinamul Congress, for more paramilitary forces in Darjeeling Hills. He said that reports of post-poll clashes between his party men and those belonging to the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) have prompted him to make such a demand and stated, “The situation in the Hills is not normal. I will propose the party high command to deploy more paramilitary forces in the Hills.”
The Hills already has a large number of forces deployed at various places since the Gorkhaland agitation last year. According to the Darjeeling superintendent of police, four companies of Central Reserve Paramilitary Force (CRPF) and around 1000 other personnel of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB), and others, are currently deployed in the Hills.
Speaking to TheDC a veteran politician observer said, "Normally it is the political party leaders who would request the government to deploy paramilitary forces, but this is perhaps for the first time the Minister (and thus the Government) has said he will request a political party for permission... This clearly shows that for the TMC the party is above the government."
Mr. Deb was speaking to the reporters, after visiting Katarey in Badamtam and meeting the victim of recent arson Mr. Dhan Bahadur Tamang, who lost all his belongings in the fire on 20 May.
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| North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb in Badamtam -Photo : Himalaya Darpan |
The Hills already has a large number of forces deployed at various places since the Gorkhaland agitation last year. According to the Darjeeling superintendent of police, four companies of Central Reserve Paramilitary Force (CRPF) and around 1000 other personnel of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB), and others, are currently deployed in the Hills.
Speaking to TheDC a veteran politician observer said, "Normally it is the political party leaders who would request the government to deploy paramilitary forces, but this is perhaps for the first time the Minister (and thus the Government) has said he will request a political party for permission... This clearly shows that for the TMC the party is above the government."
Mr. Deb was speaking to the reporters, after visiting Katarey in Badamtam and meeting the victim of recent arson Mr. Dhan Bahadur Tamang, who lost all his belongings in the fire on 20 May.
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