VOICE OF THE PEOPLE : "ABVP’s change in stand would create fresh tension in the region".

QUOTES :


"ABVP’s change in stand would create fresh tension in the region".


-Salil Acharya, CPM, district secretariat member


"Under no circumstances should the plains be brought under the ambit of the GTA".


-Ziaur Alam, CPM district secretariat member, Jalpaiguri


“I have my doubts about the unity of the Parishad because of the internal bickering in the outfit. I feel the state government should take care of tribal rights to land and other things and allow development to take place in the Terai and the Dooars,”


-D.P.Roy, MLA, Alipurduar

“Many people are opposed to the Parishad’s move. The government has created a rift between the people of the region.”

- Atul Roy, the president of the Kamtapur Progressive Party


“We oppose any steps that will affect the interest of the Rajbanshis. Thousands of Rajbanshis live in the Dooars. We will decide on a movement demanding that our problems be addressed immediately.”

-Asutosh Burma, The Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party

The decision has been taken very hastily. This involves the sentiment of thousands of common people of all communities. We must not forget that ABAVP also enjoys the support of other non-Nepalese and non-tribal communities as well. If they are not happy with us, how can we move further?


- Tea Labourer, Odlabari Tea Estate
SOURCE: Times of India

"We supported the ABAVP as it had promised to resist the GJM in the plains. Now once they have joined hands with the GJM, it will be easier for them to penetrate this region. It is obvious that the GJM will start calling the shots in this region. Who will guarantee that they won't target us once their goal is achieved?

- Tea Labourer, Odlabari Tea Estate

"The decision has been taken very hastily. This involves the sentiment of thousands of common people of all communities. We must not forget that ABAVP also enjoys the support of other non-Nepalese and non-tribal communities as well. If they are not happy with us, how can we move further?

This is not an official decision of the party. A faction of our organisation has agreed to joint GATA. But we are not ready. It is a political conspiracy hatched by Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri to capture tribal land in Terai and Dooars."


-BIRSA TIRKEY, PRESIDENT, ABAVP, Paschim Banga
SOURCE: Times of India

Government is “displeased” with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s “efforts to strike a deal” with local leaders of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad

Oct. 31: The state government is “displeased” with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s “efforts to strike a deal” with local leaders of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad to press for the inclusion of the entire Dooars-Terai region within the hill set-up, sources said.

By roping in the Parishad, the Morcha is trying to put pressure on the committee formed to look into the territory issue of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) to include more plains areas in the hill set-up, the government sources said.

Such a move could “alienate the people of the plains from the Trinamul Congress”, the sources added.

“The chief minister is displeased with the Morcha for trying to strike a deal with the Parishad. The outfits now want all the 514 mouzas in the Dooars-Terai region to be included in the GTA. Earlier, the Morcha had demanded the inclusion of 196 mouzas from the plains in the set-up. The Justice (retd) Shyamal Sen-headed committee is looking into the earlier demand,” a Writers’ source said.

The sources said Mamata Banerjee was “against the inclusion of more plains areas in the GTA than what the committee is already looking into”.

“By roping in the tribals, the Morcha is planning to press for the inclusion of more plains areas in the GTA. The Parishad’s support will increase the Morcha’s bargaining power. This will alienate the non-hill population from Trinamul and strengthen the CPM’s claim that the Mamata government is trying to divide Bengal,” one of the sources said.

The Parishad, which had earlier opposed the inclusion of the Dooars and the Terai in the hill set-up, held a joint news conference in Mongpong, 25km from Siliguri, yesterday and said it had agreed to the plains areas being included in the GTA.

The Parishad leaders had said the Morcha had accepted their condition of including “Adivasi” in the name of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

“If the Parishad joins the GTA and starts demanding a separate Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh together with the Morcha, we could be in an awkward situation. The chief minister will not allow separate statehood under any circumstance,” a Trinamul leader said.

Sources in the cabinet said the government was “surprised” at the new development and was monitoring the situation “cautiously” before deciding on its course of action.

“We were surprised to say the least. We were not prepared, especially after the enactment of the GTA, for such a move,” a minister said.

North Bengal affairs minister Gautam Deb refused comment, merely saying: “We have not received any official communication, verbally or in writing, yet. I’m not going to comment on the issue on the basis of what has appeared in newspapers.”

CPM leader Surjya Kanta Mishra today said the Morcha was trying to “create a divide between the tribals” by demanding with a section of Parishad the inclusion of the entire Dooars-Terai region in the GTA. “Fresh complications are being created by the Morcha. The majority of the Adivasis don’t want the region to be part of the GTA.”

Source : The Telegraph

Territory deal: - Parishad state chief to seek explanation from dooars unit

Parishad and Morcha supporters gathered at Mongpong on Sunday. Siliguri, Oct. 30: The move by a section of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad in the Terai and the Dooars to support the inclusion of the Adivasi-dominated areas of the plains in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration has come as a surprise to the state president of the tribal outfit.

The Parishad president, Birsa Tirkey, said the local leadership had decided to hold talks with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha without the consent of the state committee.

The Parishad had been demanding Sixth Schedule status for the Terai and the Dooars while vehemently opposing the inclusion of the region in the proposed GTA.

Tirkey said he would seek an explanation from the leaders who addressed a joint press conference with Morcha heavyweights at Mongpong today.

The Parishad president, who was in Ranchi, said he had heard that the Dooars leaders had agreed to a new dispensation called the Gorkha Adivasi Territorial Administration and to work with the Morcha leadership.

“The Parishad men from the Dooars and the Terai participated in today’s dialogue with the Morcha leaders without taking any consent from our state committee. They are free to attend any meetings with anybody without the authorisation of state leaders. But they do not have the power to take any decision on any issue, unless they are authorised by the state committee. I am now out of the state and once I return to Calcutta tomorrow, I will call an emergency meeting and ask the leaders who participated in today’s meeting for an explanation,” Tirkey told The Telegraph over phone.

Tirkey had visited the Writers’ Buildings on October 20 to submit a memorandum to Justice (retd) Shyamal Kumar Sen, who heads the high-power committee set up by the state government to address the territory issue raised by the Morcha for the inclusion of the Terai and the Dooars in the GTA.

“We could not meet the Justice or the state home secretary, G.D. Gautama. We submitted the memorandum to the officials in the home department. We clearly mentioned in the memorandum that under no circumstances could any place in the Terai and the Dooars be brought under the GTA. We also demanded autonomy for the areas under Sixth Schedule, as we are the indigenous tribal people of the areas and our issues related to development are completely different from those in the hills,” he said.

The tribal leader also pointed out that the Terai and the Dooars were Adivasi-dominated areas and Assembly seats were reserved for candidates from the community. “We have six Assembly seats reserved for candidates from the scheduled tribes and these areas cannot be part of any other set-up,” Tirkey said.

When asked if he would take any disciplinary action against the leaders who took part in today’s meeting, Tir-key said: “Once I reach Calcutta, I will get a detailed report of today’s meeting and also ask our members in what capacity they attended the meeting. Any decision on disciplinary action can be taken after that.”

Morcha leadership might resume the statehood agitation

 Oct. 17: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung and other senior leaders of the party today left for New Delhi to “clearly know the Centre’s mind” on the creation of Telangana state, party sources said today.

Morcha insiders said the leadership could not sit “smugly” if Delhi went ahead with the formation of Telangana and would have to restart with “renewed vigour” the movement for Gorkhaland.

The fresh agitation for Telangana has cast a shadow on the formation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and the peace that the Darjeeling hills have been witnessing ever since the tripartite pact for the arrangement was signed by the state, the Centre and the Morcha.

Although Gurung was tight-lipped about the visit, party sources said he was expected to meet Union home minister P. Chidambaram and Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Those accompanying Gurung include Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri, spokesperson and MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri and central committee member Jyoti Kumar Rai.

“Our leaders are keeping tabs on the developments regarding Telangana,” said a source. “They will try and gauge the mood of the Centre on the Telangana issue. We cannot sit idle and laud the GTA while Telangana is formed.”

A section in the Morcha wants the party to intensify the agitation for statehood as soon as possible if the team believes that there are “positive indications” on the formation of Telangana state.

“We might be happy with the development packages announced by Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. But if a separate Telangana state is formed, we cannot simply sit idle. It is a serious issue for us and we will have to plunge headlong into a more intensified agitation,” said the source.

As long as Telangana is not created, the Morcha can be content with the formation of the GTA. “Otherwise, we have very little option before us,” said a Morcha leader.

“It is a question of political survival. We have promised the people of the Darjeeling hills a separate state and we have raised their hopes. We have told them that the GTA is a step forward in that direction. Now, if Telangana is formed, we cannot carry on happily with the GTA. We have to go in for a long and sustained agitation to attain our ultimate goal.”

The sources said the Morcha leadership might immediately resume the statehood agitation if it believed that the Centre was on the verge of forming Telangana.

‘Not to allow inclusion of Dooars, Terai in GTA’

The success of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in smoothening the ruffled feelings of the Gorkha population in Darjeeling Hills seemed to remain elusive in the contiguous plains even as her dialogue with the Adivasi Vikas Parishad a tribal pressure group of Dooars and Terai in North Bengal remained inconclusive.

The leaders of the Dooars and Terai Committee, an umbrella group of various Adivasi groups told the media on Wednesday after their “partly successful” meeting with the Chief Minister, that she had turned down their appeal not to include areas of Dooars and Terai into the Gorkhaland Territorial Authority. The Adivasi leadership iterated they “would prevent inclusion of areas from the plains in the GTA at any cost.”

“We spoke to the Chief Minister and put a 12-point demand. We told her that we will not allow the incorporation of Dooars-Terai in the GTA. The Chief Minister and the GJM will be responsible for the unwanted and unpleasant consequence in the plains if they persisted with their idea,” Adivasi leader John Burla said adding the Chief Minister however was sympathetic towards our other demands and promised to give packages for development in the area.”

The main contention is over about 225 mouzas in the Dooars-Terai region. The Adivasi leadership also demanded a separate Adivasi Territorial Administration along the lines of GTA or formation of a Dooars-Terai autonomous council or for that matter including both Darjeeling and Dooars in Sixth Schedule all of which were promptly turned down by the Chief Minister, sources said adding she however promised to look into the other demands that included releasing Adivasi and Bodo prisoners from jails.