Darjeeling, Feb. 27: The GNLF today rejected the state government?s plan to appoint an administrator after the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC)?s term ends on March 25.

Deepak Gurung, the president of the GNLF?s Darjeeling committee, said there is no provision in the DGHC Act for the appointment of the administrator. The move, he added, would ?stifle democracy?.

?At a time when review meetings are on, how can they talk of an administrator? The move will be undemocratic, as it will mean that an authority would be appointed superseding an elected body. Such a move will not solve the impasse. Besides, there is no such provision in the DGHC Act,? Gurung said.

When the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government is working towards amending the act to instal the administrator, the fresh opposition can derail the process.

The GNLF wants to derive the maximum mileage from the situation that will arise after the term of the council expires on March 25. The party wants the government to appoint Subash Ghisingh as caretaker of the council till the elections are held.

The Opposition parties in the hills, including the CPM, have made it clear Ghisingh should not be allowed to hold the reins of the council even after its term ends.

The DGHC has already got two extensions from the state government and a third is barred by the law, but Ghisingh has refused to participate in the polls till his demands regarding the powers of the council are met through meetings with the state and the Centre.

If the state government endorses what the Gorkha leader?s opponents have been demanding, the GNLF will suffer a major setback. However, there are reports that the government is also mulling making Ghisingh the chief adviser to an administrator.

?The council will cease to be if a caretaker is not put in place by March 26,? said Gurung. The GNLF maintains that a caretaker chairman would ensure that an elected person is at the council helm.

The GNLF has also raised the bogey of a separate Gorkhaland to ensure that it wins the next round at the negotiation table. ?The state says it will pass a bill to remove the word autonomous (from DGHC). But we?ll see that a bill on Gorkhaland comes first,? said Gurung.

Ghisingh is leaving for Germany to attend a 10-day tourism festival starting March 3.