Centre agrees to scrap Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council

In A move that will effectively bring to an end the 20-year-old legacy of Subash Ghisings Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) over the demand...

In A move that will effectively bring to an end the 20-year-old legacy of Subash Ghisings Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) over the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland,the Union Government on Tuesday agreed in principle to repeal the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) Act,1988.

Its repeal will mean an end to the Ghising-led Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council once an alternative administrative framework is put in place.

The agreement was reached during the third round of tripartite talks between the Government of India,the Government of West Bengal and representatives of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). Union Home Secretary G K Pillai,West Bengal Chief Secretary A K Chakraborty and GJMs Anmole Prasad led their respective delegations.

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It was agreed,in principle,to repeal the DGHC Act,1988. The repeal of the Act would be processed as soon as an alternative administrative set-up/framework is finalised through mutual consultations and agreement, Pillai said.

The GJM,that led an agitation against Ghising that led to his resignation from the DGHC in March 2008,is now the de facto agency pursuing the Gorkhaland cause with the Centre. During Tuesdays talks,the three parties also agreed to drop the proposal for the establishment of a Hill Council under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

This comes as a shot in the arm for the GJM which had spearheaded the agitation opposing the passage of a Bill in Parliament proposing the grant of Sixth Schedule status to the DGHC.

The Sixth Schedule essentially deals with the administration of tribal areas in some Northeast states and its provisions authorise the Governor to declare tribal areas as autonomous for the purpose of administration.

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Since provisions of the Sixth Schedule empower regional councils to make their own laws and administer justice in autonomous areas,the opposition stemmed from the belief that granting this status to Darjeeling would expose non-tribals to a situation where laws made by tribal councils would govern them.

While announcing that an interlocutor will be appointed to carry forward the discussions held during Tuesdays talks,the Centre is also learnt to have subtly told the GJM that its demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland was untenable given the fact that it did not have the required support either in the West Bengal Assembly or Parliament.

Darjeeling MP and senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh,sharing the platform with GJM leaders later,expressed hope that the demand for Gorkhaland will eventually be met. He added that the ultimate aim of achieving Gorkhaland and fulfilling the aspirations of the people there would be achieved.