Vivek Chhetri
Darjeeling, June 17: Bimal Gurung today said his chat with Mamata Banerjee was “best ever meeting”, a change from his practice of listing GTA grouses against the state a day after he got a breather in the Madan Tamang case.
Yesterday, Calcutta High Court issued a directive to the CBI not to arrest Gurung and 22 other leaders and activists of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the murder case.
Gurung, along with three MLAs in the hills, Trilok Kumar Dewan, Rohit Sharma and Harka Bahadur Chhetri, called on the chief minister at Richmond Hill around 2pm.
Sources said in the last 20 minutes of the hour-long session, Mamata held a one-to-one with Gurung.
Asked about the meeting, Gurung, while on his way out of Richmond Hill, said: “This is the best ever meeting with her. The meeting was very good.”
Told about his Facebook post where Gurung had said he was innocent (in the Madan Tamang murder case) and had faith in the judiciary, the hill leader said: “Yes, I am innocent. It is a different thing that my name has cropped up. Since the matter is in court, I will face it in court.”
The Morcha chief was escorted out of Richmond Hill by Bengal ministers Gautam Deb and Aroop Biswas.
The chief minister, after a meeting of the North Bengal Development Council at the Darjeeling Tourist Lodge, also gave hints of a new-found bonhomie with Gurung.
“Bimal Gurung met me today. We want peace in the hills and with peace, there will be development,” Mamata said.
Told about Gurung’s “best ever meeting” comment, Mamata said: “At times there are misconceptions. But when one starts working together, one comes closer. We have always met whenever possible. At times when he has been unable to come to (me), he has sent his MLAs or GTA officials. Whenever it has been possible, we have met.”
The message that emerged from both the camps was that Gurung had found some support from Mamata at a time he was facing heat in the Madan Tamang murder case in which the CBI has accused the 23 of murder.
The high court had yesterday asked the CBI not to arrest Gurung and other accused till their petitions seeking anticipatory bail were disposed. The court postponed the hearing on the bail pleas for three weeks.
In the past, the relations between Mamata and Gurung had been hot and cold. Gurung had in the past not only complained of the state’s alleged interference in the functioning of the GTA but also dragged the state government to court on a number of issues, including the appointment of the principal secretary to the hill body.
Today, Gurung did not complain about anything.
Harka Bahadur Chhetri said various matters related to the GTA had been discussed during the meeting. “The chief minister has said funds have been sanctioned to construct 53,000 toilets in the Darjeeling hills. There were discussions on solid waste management for Darjeeling and Kalimpong. On the issue of transfer of departments and setting up of subordinate selection board and school service commission, we were told that the home secretary was looking into the matter,” Chhetri said.
The Morcha had been complaining that the government hasn’t completely transferred 40 departments to the GTA.
“We also discussed our demand to make Nepali an optional subject in state civil services exams. The chief minister was of the opinion that there should be a stop to illegal constructions in the hills,” said Chhetri.
Mangar board plea
Members of the Mangar community met the chief minister in Darjeeling on Wednesday and placed a demand for creation of a separate board for them.
Diwaskar Thapa, working president of Nawa Mangar Association, said: “Today, we submitted a memorandum to chief minister Mamata Banerjee to set up a Mangar development board. We have been consistently raising the demand and have met the chief minister a number of times earlier. We are working very closely with our Tamang brothers who are also helping us.”
Mamata had in the past formed separate boards for the development of Lepchas, Tamangs and Sherpas in the hills.
Source; Telegraph
Darjeeling, June 17: Bimal Gurung today said his chat with Mamata Banerjee was “best ever meeting”, a change from his practice of listing GTA grouses against the state a day after he got a breather in the Madan Tamang case.
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| Bimal Gurung and Mamata Banerjee in Darjeeling on Wednesday. Picture by Suman Taman |
Gurung, along with three MLAs in the hills, Trilok Kumar Dewan, Rohit Sharma and Harka Bahadur Chhetri, called on the chief minister at Richmond Hill around 2pm.
Sources said in the last 20 minutes of the hour-long session, Mamata held a one-to-one with Gurung.
Asked about the meeting, Gurung, while on his way out of Richmond Hill, said: “This is the best ever meeting with her. The meeting was very good.”
Told about his Facebook post where Gurung had said he was innocent (in the Madan Tamang murder case) and had faith in the judiciary, the hill leader said: “Yes, I am innocent. It is a different thing that my name has cropped up. Since the matter is in court, I will face it in court.”
The Morcha chief was escorted out of Richmond Hill by Bengal ministers Gautam Deb and Aroop Biswas.
The chief minister, after a meeting of the North Bengal Development Council at the Darjeeling Tourist Lodge, also gave hints of a new-found bonhomie with Gurung.
“Bimal Gurung met me today. We want peace in the hills and with peace, there will be development,” Mamata said.
Told about Gurung’s “best ever meeting” comment, Mamata said: “At times there are misconceptions. But when one starts working together, one comes closer. We have always met whenever possible. At times when he has been unable to come to (me), he has sent his MLAs or GTA officials. Whenever it has been possible, we have met.”
The message that emerged from both the camps was that Gurung had found some support from Mamata at a time he was facing heat in the Madan Tamang murder case in which the CBI has accused the 23 of murder.
The high court had yesterday asked the CBI not to arrest Gurung and other accused till their petitions seeking anticipatory bail were disposed. The court postponed the hearing on the bail pleas for three weeks.
In the past, the relations between Mamata and Gurung had been hot and cold. Gurung had in the past not only complained of the state’s alleged interference in the functioning of the GTA but also dragged the state government to court on a number of issues, including the appointment of the principal secretary to the hill body.
Today, Gurung did not complain about anything.
Harka Bahadur Chhetri said various matters related to the GTA had been discussed during the meeting. “The chief minister has said funds have been sanctioned to construct 53,000 toilets in the Darjeeling hills. There were discussions on solid waste management for Darjeeling and Kalimpong. On the issue of transfer of departments and setting up of subordinate selection board and school service commission, we were told that the home secretary was looking into the matter,” Chhetri said.
The Morcha had been complaining that the government hasn’t completely transferred 40 departments to the GTA.
“We also discussed our demand to make Nepali an optional subject in state civil services exams. The chief minister was of the opinion that there should be a stop to illegal constructions in the hills,” said Chhetri.
Mangar board plea
Members of the Mangar community met the chief minister in Darjeeling on Wednesday and placed a demand for creation of a separate board for them.
Diwaskar Thapa, working president of Nawa Mangar Association, said: “Today, we submitted a memorandum to chief minister Mamata Banerjee to set up a Mangar development board. We have been consistently raising the demand and have met the chief minister a number of times earlier. We are working very closely with our Tamang brothers who are also helping us.”
Mamata had in the past formed separate boards for the development of Lepchas, Tamangs and Sherpas in the hills.
Source; Telegraph
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