The Gorkha Janmukthi Morcha (GJM), demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland in West Bengal, scored a victory by prevailing on the Centre and the state government to do away with the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). The Subash Ghising-led Gorkha National Liberation Front had got the council in place after a similar struggle. An alternative system of governance would be in place soon.
The Morcha concurred to the appointment of an interlocutor for talks on the statehood issue. This is being seen as a delaying tactic. A similar experiment in 1997 to solve the Nagaland problem is still hanging fire.
But home secretary GK Pillai saidit was a mechanism agreed upon during tripartite talks between the Centre, West Bengal government and the GJM on Tuesday.
GJM spokesman Amar Lama said he wanted BJP MP Jaswant Singh to be the interlocutor but a final decision would be taken after consultations with the Centre and the state government.
The next tripartite talks will take place in Darjeeling on December 21. The process to repeal the DGHC Act, 1988 would start once an alternative framework is finalised.
The GJM recently upstaged the GNLF by holding it responsible for failure to clinch the statehood issue. It was also opposed to the 6th Schedule status for Darjeeling, a move the GNLF sees as the first step towards statehood.
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