Morcha firm on demands

Posted by barunroy

Feb. 27: The bandh in Darjeeling will continue till the state removes Subash Ghisingh from the post of caretaker administrator of the hill council and the Centre scraps the Sixth Schedule bill, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders said in Calcutta today. [Inset: Ghisingh in Santiniketan on Wednesday. “This is Kalyug,” he said after a guided tour of Visva- Bharati. “What happened in Iraq? What is happening everywhere? Negative,” he said.]

After a 75-minute meeting with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the Morcha brass said they would stay in the city for a few more days awaiting the government’s response to their demands. “We are happy with today’s discussion. The chief minister said he would discuss our two primary demands with his cabinet colleagues and convey the government’s stand at the earliest,” said Morcha president Bimal Gurung.

“The bandh and the hunger strike (by Morcha supporters in Darjeeling) will continue,” Gurung said. Asked about the demands, Bhattacharjee said: “We had a detailed discussion but no decision has been taken.” About Ghisingh, the Morcha president said: “We have heard that he has gone to Santiniketan today, he should remain there.”

Ghisingh has been shut out of Darjeeling since his return from Delhi on February 18. He was holed up in Pintail, on the outskirts of Siliguri, for four days before moving to Calcutta.