Ghisingh cuts a cake at the picnic. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, Jan. 1: Hundreds of people feasted at a picnic organised by the Gorkha National Liberation Front even as Subash Ghisingh threatened to make matters worse for the Centre and Bengal.

Around 200 vehicles ferried GNLF supporters from every corner of the hills to Goak, 14 km from Darjeeling, along the Little Rangit river, where 1.5 quintals of chicken, two buffaloes, 38 goats and several quintals of rice were cooked for the merrymakers.

Ghisingh used a kukri to cut the cakes, which collectively weighed about 200 pounds, after offering prayers at the Mukti bridge to kick off the celebrations.

Most Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council secretaries were present.

However, the GNLF chief gave an indication of his dissatisfaction with the council and maintained that he would once again become politically active. ?I had put politics on the backburner for the past couple of years as it would have affected development work. We should not only be satisfied with the council. It was born out of a memorandum of understanding and has no constitutional status in the country,? Ghisingh said.

He said the council had become an old car that should be sent to a garage.

The GNLF leader termed Jyoti Basu?s model DGHC autonomous council a body without complete power.

Ghisingh said he had submitted a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee a couple of months ago and added that its contents would determine the future of politics in the hills.

?I am telling both the Centre and the state government to disclose the contents of the letter as early as possible and, if they fail to do so, I will. The contents will be like an earthquake,? he said.

A fair was organised at the site, with over half a dozen pandals erected to accommodate the people who had come to attend the picnic.