As chief minister Mamata Banerjee left Siliguri for Kolkata after a five-day tour today, fugitive leader of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha, Roshan Giri, said she should “examine her mental and emotional processes.” According to him, the time has come for the CM to do some “introspection.” Mr Giri was reacting specifically to a video clip that shows the CM and her entourage ‘jogging’ during her ‘morning walk’ in Kurseong yesterday.

The video clip went viral on social media, while reactions poured in from social media users, both for and against Miss Banerjee’s run. The CM arrived here on 21 October and left for Kurseong the next day after holding an administrative review meeting at Uttarkanya. She returned to Siliguri from Kurseong last evening. A political leader in the Hills and a political observer said that the CM’s “run for something” was irrelevant. “It yielded nothing politically in the Hills, though she tried to show that she was still strong and energetic and does hard work for the people,” he said.

“Her political strategy is not working effectively. The decision to run in the Hills was laughable and it would not help her fulfill her political aims,” he added. Sources who were present in the CM’s entourage said the run was titled “run for greenery” and that it was the CM’s own idea on the occasion of the International Day of Climate Action. “The CM’s run was for good health,” said another member of her team.

“The Chief Minister indirectly admitted that there was no peace in the Hills. Addressing an administrative meeting in Kurseong, she asked both Anit Thapa, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) chairman and Hill TMC leader LB Rai to first bring back peace for development to happen,” a journalist in Kurseong said. “What does it mean? There is no peace in the Hills in the last two years under both Binoy Tamang and Anit Thapa,” another political observer said.

“Finally, Mamata Banerjee has come to know that her Anit Thapa and Binoy Tamang do not enjoy popular support. The GTA is being run illegally. The CM should find ways and means for a permanent political solution for the people of Darjeeling Hills, Siliguri, the Terai and the Dooars,” Roshan Giri said from his undisclosed location. “Rampant corruption in several Development Boards and Municipalities should also be checked. Time has come for chief minister Mamata Banerjee to do some introspection,” he added.

President of the All-India Jan Andalon Party, Dr Harka Bahadur Chhetri, said: “The common people expected the chief minister to say something about bonus for tea workers and ensure 20 percent bonus within a time frame given, and as demanded by the tea workers.” “However, the workers were not happy with the CM’s visit,” a Hill resident, who did not want to be named, added. “The CM’s visit did not have any impact on the people. The decision to run was nothing but to stage a drama to highlight herself. She did not announce any important programmes for the Hills,” said Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) general secretary, Mahendra Chhetri.

“The embers of the fire are still there under the ashes in the entire Hill areas. A group of people belonging to the ruling camp, with the help of the administration, is controlling the Hills. People are not in peace and not happy with them,” Mr Chhetri said. “We held a meeting recently. We, members of a group of eight organisations, will begin a movement, demanding ‘permanent political solution’ for the Hills after the end of the festivals,” he said.