The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has taken the oath to run the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. The GJM has kept the demand for statehood in abeyance. One MLA of the GJM, Harka Bahadur Chhetri has said that there will be no demand for a separate state as long as Mamata Banerjee remains Chief Minister of West Bengal. But the issue is very much alive and several political parties in the hills are waiting to corner the GJM on it. So the Gorkhaland signs in the region have not been removed. Enthusiasm about the oath-taking ceremony did not in any way match the ebullience before the GTA agreement last year. There is skepticism about whether Bimal Gurung and his team will deliver much. At the time of the GTA’s inception, there was no power in Darjeeling and all establishments ran on generators. Water supply was scarce. The traffic situation was terrible. Apprehension prevails that funds allocated to the GTA may be misused. It is all very well to talk of transparency but reality is a different matter. Creation of opportunities for people may fall short of promise. It is the GJM which throttled tourism. Can it boost it significantly? Finally, nothing is concrete about the panel to be constituted to look into the Justice Shyamal Sen Commission’s award of mouzas.
The new Union Home Minister S.K. Shinde was prematurely optimistic about Mamata Banerjee’s plan of action in the hills. Calling her his sister, he expressed the belief that she will help the area grow. He oozed with sentimentality. What is encouraging is the Centre’s assurance to provide all assistance to West Bengal and Bimal Gurung. It appears that there is no hitch between the UPA and the Trinamul Congress.