20130806

Buddha blames govt for Hills stir

TNN | Aug 6, 2013, 03.53 AM IST

KOLKATA: Breaking his silence over the ongoing Darjeeling turmoil, former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Monday blamed the Mamata Banerjee government for it. Bhattacharjee said the seeds of unrest were sown when the state government hurriedly signed the tri-partite GTA agreement.

The Centre's decision to carve out Telengana may have acted as a catalyst, but if not now, this would have led to unrest later, the CPM leader said.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee - and Trinamool Congress leadership - have been consistently pinning their blame on the Centre for present Darjeeling unrest.

"We had opposed the GTA agreement for this very reason," Bhattacharjee said while speaking on the 125th birth anniversary of Muzaffar Ahmed at Mahajati Sadan on Monday. He-along with other CPM top leaders-spoke on the 125th birth anniversary of Muzzafar Ahmed at Mahajati Sadan.

Taking a dig at the pre-poll tie-up between the Trinamool and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) before the assembly polls, the former CM said there was a point the Trinamool had gained from such anarchist forces and now the people of Bengal are paying its price. The former CM was taking a dig at the pre-poll tie-up between Trinamool and Gorkha Janamukti Morcha in the run-up to 2011 assembly polls.

Accusing the state government for failing to maintain peace in Darjeeling, opposition leader in the assembly, Surjya Kanta Mishra, said, "The chief minister may have strained ties with Congress, but she should be in touch with the UPA government to keep life normal in Darjeeling hills which has been crippled by an indefinite bandh on the Gorkhaland demand."

Mishra said that the chief minister should have patience and the keep doors open for talks with the Morcha 'before things go out of control'.

"We neither back the statehood demand nor support the indefinite bandh. What we want is normal life in Darjeeling hills," he said. Alleging that the 'seeds of unrest' was embedded in the tripartite treaty with the GJM, he said

"This state government had indirectly supported Gorkhaland demand by inserting the name in the GTA."

"You indirectly supported the GJM demand for Gorkhaland and GTA has given recognition to it,"


Mishra urged Mamata Banerjee to call an all-party meeting to discuss the Darjeeling issue.

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