10 March 2008

Ghisingh resigns, a new era begins in hills

Ghisingh quits, split in party

March 10: GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh today resigned as caretaker administrator of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), ending a 20-year rule that had swiftly lost popular support in the last few months because of its failure to push the statehood demand.
In the Assembly, three GNLF legislators raised the demand for Gorkhaland during mention hour and staged a walkout. Later, two of them — Pranay Rai and Gaulan Lepcha — told reporters that they had resigned from their party and formed a group called GNLF (Rebels). The third MLA, Shanta Chhetri, said she would remain with the GNLF.
Ghisingh, down with a flu, signed and handed over the resignation letter addressed to Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to Darjeeling district magistrate and DGHC principal secretary Rajesh Pandey at the WBSEDCL Inspection Bungalow at Second Mile off Sevoke Road in Siliguri around 11.10am.
“I cannot speak on the content of the letter. I will forward it to the state government”, Pandey said after coming out of the bungalow where the GNLF chief has been staying since March 6.
In Calcutta later in the day, the chief minister said he had received Ghisingh’s resignation letter and accepted it. He added that Jalpaiguri divisional commissioner B.L. Meena would take over as the DGHC caretaker administrator tomorrow.
A source revealed that the 10-line resignation letter, drafted by Pandey upon Ghisingh’s instruction, mentioned that the GNLF chief was eligible to continue in the post till March 24. “He has said in the letter that considering the current state of affairs in the hills and a request from the chief minister, he preferred to step down,” the source said.
The district magistrate said the GNLF leader would continue to get Z-category security cover from the state.
The septuagenarian leader stayed away from reporters. “He is likely to leave for Darjeeling on Thursday and is expected to talk to the media before that,” the source said.
This is the first time since the formation of the DGHC in 1988 that Ghisingh is not in any administrative post of the council. “All these years, he was very busy with administrative duties,” said Dawa Pakhrin, the president of the Kalimpong branch of the GNLF. “From today, he is free and can devote more time to the party. We expect a meeting soon where our future course of action to fight for a separate state will be planned.
However, leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, currently spearheading the movement for Gorkhaland, said Ghisingh would find it difficult to garner support in the hills.

Courtesy : The telegraph, Calcutta


Ghisingh's 22-yr rule ends

KOLKATA/DARJEELING: Virtually hounded out of the Hills by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), Subash Ghisingh on Monday stepped down as caretaker administrator of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.
The Gorkha leader left Darjeeling in the first week of February and since then, he could not go back to the Hills due to GJM's agitation. Even on Monday, when he tendered his resignation, he was in Siliguri. A senior official said he was not likely to go to Darjeeling in a day or two as he was indisposed and would take rest in Siliguri for some time.
Darjeeling district magistrate Rajesh Pandey went to Siliguri to receive Ghisingh's resignation. "Yesterday, Ghisingh complained of health problems. So, I decided to come to Siliguri and take the resignation letter. We will provide security to him as soon as he is well enough to travel," he said. Later, in the Assembly, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee announced that he has accepted Ghisingh's resignation.
Jalpaiguri divisional commissioner B L Meena was appointed DGHC administrator in the evening. He is likely to take charge on Tuesday.
There was jubilation in the Hills as soon as news reached there that Ghisingh's rule as DGHC chief had ended. "People have given their verdict and it is only right that they celebrate their ‘mukti' today," GJM president Bimal Gurung said. "We will not stop Ghisingh from coming to Darjeeling now that he has resigned. We can concentrate on our future agitation programme for Gorkhaland," he said.
People from all sections of society came out in droves after the news of Ghisingh's resignation reached Darjeeling. Their faces smeared with abir, the locals chanted: "Jai Gorkha Jai Gorkhali, hamro maang Gorkhaland." Firecrackers were burst throughout the Hill town.
There were celebrations in the other subdivisions of Darjeeling, too. All India Gorkha League and Communist Party Revolutionary Marxist also welcomed Ghisingh's resignation.
Events in the Assembly during the day, however, indicated that Ghisingh's resignation would not end the problems in Darjeeling. For, after many years, the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state was voiced on the floor of the House by three legislators from Darjeeling.
The demand was raised separately by GNLF MLA Shanta Chhetri from Kurseong and two others, Pranay Rai and Gaulan Lepcha from Darjeeling and Kalimpong. Rai and Lepcha announced that they had already resigned from GNLF and joined GJM. They also submitted a memorandum to the chief minister, detailing the demand for Gorkhaland.
As opposed to the Gorkhaland demand voiced by GNLF in the 1980s, the new demand for a separate Gorkhaland state included not only the hills of Darjeeling but also large areas of Dooars.

Courtesy: Times Of India

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