The Hindu : National : Buddhadeb meets Ghising, defuses crisis

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Saturday, Jan 22, 2005

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National

Buddhadeb meets Ghising, defuses crisis

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA, JAN. 21. The West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, today intervened to defuse a political crisis that was brewing following an announcement by the Chairman of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Autonomous Council [DGHAC], Subash Ghising, that the council he had helped set up 16 years ago had become redundant and only enhancing its powers would give it back its legitimacy.

Mr. Bhattacharjee met Mr. Ghising near Siliguri today and agreed that the powers of the DGHAC would be reviewed at a meeting involving the two and the Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, in New Delhi next week.

Mr. Bhattacharjee indicated that the State Government was not averse to considering the grant of additional powers to the DGHAC for peace in the Darjeeling hills, rocked by political strife in the mid-1980s when Mr. Ghising led a campaign for a separate State. That movement was called off with the setting up of the DGHAC following an accord signed between Mr. Ghising, the West Bengal Government and the Centre.

All options

At a rally at Bagdogra near Siliguri on Thursday, Mr. Bhattacharjee said all options would be considered to ensure that the hills did not lapse into a period of political turbulence. This was conveyed to Mr. Ghising. A few days ago, Mr. Bhattacharjee sent an emissary to Mr. Ghising with the message that contentious issues could be sorted out through discussions.

The present crisis was triggered by a declaration by Mr. Ghising that he would not allow elections to the DGHAC to be held by March 26 and instead wind up the Council unless its powers were reviewed and increased.

The West Bengal Government is looking into the question of handing over the investigations in question to the CBI and senior officials of at least six departments under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary met on Wednesday to review the DGHAC's functioning as a precursor to next week's tripartite talks. This was communicated to Mr. Ghising by the Chief Minister today.

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