Ending two decades of uncertainty in the Darjeeling hills, a historic tripartite agreement for a new council with more powers was signed today even as the West Bengal ruled out any division of the State.
The agreement for Gorkhaland Territorial Administration was signed in the presence of the Union Home Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, the Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president, Mr Bimal Gurung, here, about 8 km from Siliguri.
Bandh
A 48-hour bandh was observed in the adjoining Terai and Dooars in the plains against the signing.
The agreement was signed by the West Bengal Home Secretary, Mr G.D. Gautama, the Union Home Ministry Joint Secretary, Mr K.K. Pathak, and the GJM general secretary, Mr Roshan Giri, here.
A discordant note was struck by Mr Bimal Gurung's wife Asha just before the signing, saying that she was happy at the inclusion of the word ‘Gorkhaland' in the GTA agreement and the ‘ultimate aim' was to achieve a Gorkhaland State.
However, the Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, who kept her pledge to resolve the Darjeeling hill crisis within three months of coming to power, said there was no question of bifurcating West Bengal.
Assuring that a complete economic package would be given to GTA, she said that the agreement sought to confer the maximum possible autonomy within constitutional framework and within Central and State Acts.
‘Historic'
Describing the occasion as historic, Mr Chidambaram said the Centre and the State government would fully back the GTA, which replaced the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council formed in 1988.
“Today I stand witness to the historic events when years of conflict have been brought to an end by the vision of two people – Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and my good friend of two-and-a-half years Bimal Gurung,” Mr Chidambaram said. He also thanked the local BJP MP, Mr Jaswant Singh, who was present.
The Chief Minister categorically said that GTA would have jurisdiction only in the three hill sub—divisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong.
She also announced that elections to the GTA to elect 45 members would be held within six months with the poll process to start shortly.
Ms Banerjee said that the agreement would mark the end of uncertainty, violence and underdevelopment in Darjeeling and that both the state and the Centre were extremely sensitive to the development and aspirations of the people. The Left Front Chairman, Mr Biman Bose, said, “We feel that the outcome of the agreement being signed on such a sensitive issue through unilateral discussion may not be good.”
The CPI(M) leader and Leader of the Opposition, Mr Surya Kanta Misra, who was invited to the signing ceremony, did not attend it, with the party holding that the contents and details of the agreement were not known.