Even as the 45-day strike in Darjeeling commenced from Monday evening, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) appears to be softening its stand.
Left out of all-party meet and with the Centre talking tough, protesters signal softening of stand
KOLKATA: Even as the 45-day strike in Darjeeling commenced from Monday evening, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) appears to be softening its stand. The Siliguri and Dooars plains are out of the purview of the strike.
Officially still sticking to its demand for a separate Gorkhaland, the GJM leadership on Monday expressed its readiness to discuss the issue in a tripartite meeting with the Centre and the West Bengal government.
GJM general secretary Roshon Giri said over telephone from Darjeeling that the party leadership is open for a tripartite meeting and hence is not attending the June 18 all-party meeting convened by Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
Incidentally, the GJM has not been invited to the meeting. With the Union external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee talking tough and ruling out any possibility of a separate Gorkhaland, the GJM is now looking for a face-saver.
GJM president Bimal Gurung is expected to head for Delhi by the end of June to meet prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Union home minister Shivraj Patil. He is also slated to meet BJP leader and leader of the opposition LK Advani.
Meanwhile, political observers here are viewing the ongoing Darjeeling impasse as a blessing in disguise for the CPI(M) in the state, especially for the chief minister. Though the distance between the CPI(M) and its Left Front allies like the RSP, CPI and All-India Forward Bloc has been widening on issues like land acquisition for industry and clashes in the panchayat elections, the Darjeeling crisis has helped cement cracks in the coalition.
Left Front allies, who had been critical of Bhattacharjee on many issues, have now entrusted full faith in him on the Darjeeling issue and given him full authority to handle the matter his way. The allies have also supported Bhattacharjee’s decision not to invite the GJM to the all-party meeting.
The Darjeeling issue has also given the CPI(M) an edge over its arch political rival, Trinamool Congress, which gained substantially in the recently concluded panchayat elections. Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee’s last moment attempts to set pre-conditions to attend the all-party meeting have made her virtually a lone ranger in the state’s political circle.
Even the Congress has charged Mamata with compromising on the unity and integrity of the state for narrow political compulsions.
r_sumanta@dnaindia.net
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