Siliguri: A close aide of Subhas Ghising today stepped down as the president of Kalimpong district in Darjeeling hills, in a setback for Gorkha National Liberation Front chief, who has been speaking of returning to the area where his writ ran till 2008 before his ouster.
Dawa Pakhrin, who alone among the GNLF leaders continued to function at Kalimpong after Ghising was forced to flee Darjeeling in July 2008, told reporters he was stepping down in protest against Ghising's contention that a separate state of Gorkhaland could not be achieved.
Ghising has been speaking of returning to the Darjeeling hills where his writ ran for two decades till 2008 before his ouster by his one-time protege Bimal Gurung, the president of the GJM.
Pakhrin later told PTI that he could no longer support Ghising as he had spoken against Gorkhaland, "which is every Gorkha's dream".
The GNLF chief had on April 18 said in Jalpaiguri that neither the Centre nor the West Bengal government would ever accept the demand for Gorkhaland and the Sixth Schedule was the only viable solution to the Darjeeling problem.
He had been negotiating with the Centre for Sixth Schedule status (tribal status) when he was driven out of Darjeeling.
The GJM which came to power in the hills after his ouster rejected the Sixth Schedule status and revived the Gorkhaland demand that had been originally voiced by Ghising.
His resignation could be a setback for the GNLF, which has been slowly making its presence felt in the foothills of Darjeeling by holding rallies and meetings despite the presence of the GJM.
The GNLF had taken advantage of the GJM president's failure to achieve Gorkhaland by March 10, a deadline set by himself and his proposal for an interim setup in the hills to replace the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council till December 2011.
GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri said the people of Darjeeling have already rejected Ghising. "He will never be able to return to Darjeeling."
Gurung had held talks with Union Home Minister P \Chidamabaram in New Delhi on April 10 on the interim setup he has proposed in the hills.
The West Bengal government which has always been opposed to the demand for Gorkhaland carved out of the state has also said that more powers could be given to a hill council.
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