Mamata Banerjee gives GJM chief 72 hours to end strike - Times of India

KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee took the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha head-on on Saturday, issuing a 72-hour ultimatum to call off the strike or "face strong action". She also hinted the government would investigate the Morcha's sources of money. Mamata ruled out the Gorkhaland demand, reiterating Darjeeling is "part and parcel of India and Bengal". The government ultimatum evoked an equally tough response from GJM chief Bimal Gurung, who ruled out the possibility of lifting the strike and warned the Hills will give a "befitting reply if the government tried to break the strike". The ego battle has escalated the tension in the Hills, which is already seething from the cable blackout. There is fear in political circles that Darjeeling is now a ticking time bomb. Old-timers said they were reminded of the uncertainty and bloodbath of the Eighties during the GNLF movement. The difference this time is that the Trinamool Congress doesn't have the presence in Darjeeling the CPM had in the tea gardens. A government crackdown might immobilize the administration in the Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong subdivisions, creating space for insurgent groups — a deadly scenario as Darjeeling shares four international borders. But Mamata is unfazed. She said her government will sit for talks with the Morcha only after it calls off the bandh. "What talks? I have been to Darjeeling 25 times. The government has held several meetings with the GJM. We signed the GTA agreement, persuaded GJM to participate in GTA elections. I even withdrew my party candidates to please them. But one should not cross the Lakshman Rekha," the CM said at Writers' Buildings. "This is a caution and appeal to my friends (GJM) who have been continuing with the strike for eight days. They have stopped tea supply and are threatening the people in the Hills not to take government ration. I have borne with the mischief all these days. Enough is enough. I cannot allow the state to suffer because of a couple of leaders who are on the warpath only because they are losing popularity." The CM accused some Union ministers of adopting a "divide and rule" tactic for narrow electoral gains. "I request the Centre not to interfere in state matters," she said, with a tacit reference to the GJM parleys in Delhi. The GJM president is equally adamant. "There is no question of lifting the strike on Monday. Let the government take whatever action it wants. Any effort to break the strike will be met with a public curfew. Not a single person will come out on the streets in the Hills. The people of the country will see the real face of Mamata Banerjee," Gurung said at the Singamari party HQ in Darjeeling on Saturday. On the CM's barb that Morcha leaders were desperate because they were losing popularity, Gurung retorted: "If we are so unpopular why are people coming out on the streets," Gurung said, pointing to a Muslim delegation that had come to greet him at the GJM party office. Armed with the Calcutta high court order — which has directed the government to take action against people blocking traffic or disrupting normal life in the Hills — the chief minister warned of steps beyond police action. "Bandh supporters have been threatening people in the Hills against taking government ration. They have said that the party will provide them ration. Where are they getting this money? The government will find out. These leaders have a lot of cases against them," Mamata said. "I feel for my poor brothers and sisters in Darjeeling. Darjeeling is close to my heart. I can't wait and watch the students in convent schools suffer because of the bandh. Tour operators, hoteliers and school and college authorities do not endorse the shutdown. Nobody should think that Darjeeling is without a guardian. I won't allow this mischief to continue," the CM said. She made it clear that Gorkhaland is not happening. "We cannot divide Bengal. It is not a child's play. One day the Ghotis (original residents of West Bengal) will come and ask for a state, the Bangals (those who migrated from East Pakistan) will claim their land the other day. This can't go on," the CM said. The Congress and CPM, however, held that Mamata's "sound and fury" won't work. "The government should sit for talks with GJM and try to defuse the tension," said Pradesh Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya. Former minister and CPM leader Asok Bhattacharya expressed concern over the rising tension. "Mamata Banerjee held a series of talks with GJM leaders before coming to power in 2011. I don't know what has happened to her now," Bhattacharya said. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFdKxl0Pr43fsTrQ5PG0UlvhJI7VA&url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mamata-Banerjee-gives-GJM-chief-72-hours-to-end-strike/articleshow/21752478.cms

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