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Ghisingh still in Siliguri, says hings have gone out of control in the hills for
the state government
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SPECIALCORRESPONDENT on 08 March, 2008 08:18:00
 
Still confined to a guesthouse in Siliguri and unable to go back to Darjeeling,
Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) chief Subash Ghisingh said it showed how
far things have gone out of control in the hills for the state government.
Darjeeling hills do not have the rule of law any more, Ghisingh said,
indirectly blaming the state government for failing to ensure his safe return to
the hills.
It is almost over a fortnight now since Ghisingh has been kept out of
Darjeeling, his hometown.
He warned that the incident has set a trend and one must bear in mind that the
rule of law can be ignored in such a fashion in future in the hills. “The
longer I am denied entry into Darjeeling, the better,” the GNLF chief told
mediapersons on Friday.
The Darjeeling Gorkha Janamukti Morcha has launched an agitation and its
leaders said Ghisingh has not been able to go back to his hometown because
people in the hills do not want him anymore.
A senior state government official said once Ghisingh puts in his resignation
as caretaker administrator of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, the agitators
will allow him to go back.
West Bengal Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said Jalpaiguri Divisional
Commissioner B L Meena is likely to take over as the new caretaker administrator
of the council. Ray, however, did not specify the date when the charge will be
handed over. He said Ghisingh is expected to put in his papers on March 10.
Sources in the Writers’ Buildings, meanwhile, said the government is not
eager to pursue the Sixth Schedule status demand for Darjeeling region further.
The administration feels it would not be a problem for Ghisingh to enter
Darjeeling once he resigns from his post, officials said.