Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Union home minister P Chidambaram at an event to sign the hill agreement in Siliguri on Monday. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Siliguri (Bengal), July 18: Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee today pitched the new hill deal as a cementing force to keep Bengal united with Darjeeling as its “heart”.

“There will be no division of Bengal (Bangla bhag hochchhe na). Darjeeling is not outside West Bengal. It is the heart of West Bengal. We will stay together,” Mamata said in her address to mark the signing of the tripartite agreement among the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the state government and the Centre at Siliguri’s Pintail village.

The agreement signals the beginning of the new administrative body for the Hills, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

A hushed silence followed the chief minister’s announcement made in the presence of the GJM president Bimal Gurung, other Morcha leaders and the supporters who have been leading a movement for the separate state of Gorkhaland for the last four years. Union home minister P. Chidambaram, Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh, railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, junior shipping minister Mukul Roy and a number of ministers from the state government were at the signing ceremony.

Mamata was addressing 5,500-odd Morcha supporters who could make it to the venue: a field besides Pintail village.

The signatories to the memorandum of agreement — the joint secretary in the home ministry, K.K. Pathak; the Bengal home secretary, G.D. Gautama; and the Morcha general secretary, Roshan Giri — were greeted to a round of applause with the hope that the new agreement would bring back peace to the hills that had been subjected to repeated bandhs since September 2007.

GJM supporters from the three hill sub-divisions -- Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong — Terai, Dooars and Kalchini, Kumargram in neighbouring Jalpaiguri came down to Siliguri. While 5,000 could make it to the venue, another 10,000 were waiting on the road linking the hills of Darjeeling with the plains.

Mamata didn’t name the CPM but blamed it for playing politics over the name “Gorkhaland Territorial Administration”.

She said it was the previous Left Front that had agreed to the inclusion of Gorkhaland in the name of the new administrative body. The Left Front has expressed its doubts over the outcome of the new pact and the leader of Opposition Surjya Kant Mishra had turned down the government’s invite to attend the ceremony.

“Some people are playing politics with the name. What is the problem? In a meeting held on August 17, 2010, between the Centre, the state and the GJM leaders, the name Gorkhaland Regional Authority was settled. This was done about a year ago but didn’t succeed because they didn’t want to. We have only changed the word regional with territorial. If there is peace in the hills, then the plains will also be peaceful,” Mamata said.

Election to the new body will be held in six months, Mamata added.

A number of anti-Morcha forums have called strike in the area coinciding with the signing of the agreement, over the demand to include 298 mouzas from Dooars and Terai under the GTA.

Mamata is keen to make the new Darjeeling agreement — signed 23 years after Jyoti Basu inked a deal with Subash Ghisingh at Calcutta’s Raj Bhawan — a success. But she doesn’t want violence to erupt in Dooars, Terai and the plains that would put a serious question mark over her government’s abilities to handle critical administrative issues. The Singur issue is yet to be settled and peace still eludes Jungle Mahal.

She warned that playing politics in the hills, Terai and Cooch Behar will not be allowed to come in the way of development. “There are groups who create rift between the people of hills and plains, between Rajbongshis and Bengalis. This will not go on. Banglar mati durjoy ghati, jene rakho durbritto (The soil of Bengal is impregnable, the villains should remember),” Mamata said.

GJM president Bimal Gurung in his address had urged the state government to make the right decision in including areas from the Terai and Dooars. “The previous government didn’t do anything. Now we expect that the committee that will look into the inclusion of areas from Dooars and Terai will pay attention to the demand and the government will take the right decision,” Gurung said.

The chief minister said confusion was being created over the committee. “So what if a committee has been formed? The authority will decide over Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong. Why create confusion? Those who don’t want the problem to be solved are trying to create disturbance. For 35 years, you did nothing, now remain quiet. Darjeeling will become Switzerland,” she said.

Union home minister Chidambaram, while advising his “good friends” Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri, shared a sentiment that found a stronger voice in Mamata, no divisive politics. “What is India if it is not a mosaic of many races, languages, religions and yet we are one. The area under the GTA too has a plural society. This new administration must respect the plurality of the area,” Chidambaram said.

Without going into the details of the agreement signed, the Union home minister gave a brief of the areas where GTA would have a say. This includes agriculture, education, food, industries, women and child development, land and land revenue, municipalities, panchayats, urban development, sports and tourism.

“I have a word of advice for my good friends Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri. There is a stupendous task ahead of rebuilding the area brick by brick. The state government and the Centre will hold your hand, support you. Here is the opportunity to prove that you have the capacity to govern and deliver,” Chidambaram said.

The slogan “parivartan” that was made famous by Mamata in the run-up to the Assembly polls was picked up by Chidambaram too. “The word is common throughout India though pronounced differently in Bengal, Darjeeling, Delhi and Kanyakumari. It means change, a transformation for a better tomorrow,” Chidambaram said, expressing hope that this would “end strife and conflict” and bring a “happy conclusion”.

Before coming to the venue, Mamata walked a 1km stretch from the forest bungalow where she is staying to Sukna More, greeting GJM and Trinamul supporters on the way. At Pintail village, GJM supporters shouted slogans of “We want Gorkhaland”, “Bimal Gurung Zindabad”, “Mamata Didi zindabad’. Till the dignitaries arrived the supporters sang and danced.

Mamata gave out a long list of development projects that includes schools, colleges, infrastructure, specialised training institutes, research centres and others to be undertaken by GTA. “Kanchenjunga will smile, Darjeeling will smile. There were no elections to the local bodies now it will be held. Schools, colleges, hospitals, industry and cultural academy will come up in Darjeeling. There is a complete economic package for Darjeeling. Are you happy? Say from your heart. (Aap log khush hain na? Dil se awaz do),” Mamata said to the crowd that cheered loudly. (See Page 4)