Ghisingh at Writers’ on Saturday. Picture by Aranya Sen

Calcutta, Feb. 23: Subash Ghisingh today ruled out resigning as administrator of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) before his term expired on March 24.

The Gorkha leader, who met chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at Writers’ Buildings, also claimed that he could enter Darjeeling whenever he wanted, but was staying away to avoid triggering violence.

“Let people go on demanding, but I will not put in my papers before March 24. Let this not be treated as a political issue,” Ghisingh, who heads the GNLF, said.

“The GNLF is not politically weak and is very much there in the hills. I can enter Darjeeling whenever I feel like. I still consider myself king of the hills. But I do not want any clash and confrontation because of this. The hill people are very much with me.”

Ghisingh has been holed up in Pintail village, 3km from Siliguri, since returning from Delhi on Monday, with Gorkha Janamukti Morcha supporters blocking all roads to Darjeeling. Yesterday, he flew to Calcutta, prompting jubilant protesters to claim that he had fled under pressure.

But the GNLF leader today said he had been resting in Siliguri after a hectic Delhi tour. “I went to Delhi to find out the fate of the Sixth Schedule bill, which will be placed in Parliament shortly. It was a hectic tour and so I decided to rest in Siliguri and then come to Calcutta. I will meet the Bengal governor on Monday and also brief the state chief and home secretaries,” Ghisingh said.

The Morcha wants statehood rather than special status under the Sixth Schedule.

Ghisingh said his talks with Bhattacharjee went off well but did not reveal what the chief minister told him about the Darjeeling stalemate.

“The chief minister appeared happy after I gave him details on the condition in the hills. I told him about the functioning of the DGHC and the need for immediate passage of the Sixth Schedule bill in Parliament,” he said.

On whether Bhattacharjee had asked him to resign, the GNLF chief said: “No, he did not say so.”

The government had announced a few days ago it would not extend Ghisingh’s term and that a state representative would be appointed the hill council administrator if the bill was not passed by March 24.

The bill will make way for an interim executive council that will oversee elections to the DGHC within six months of its formation.