As Darjeeling simmers, ‘Gorkhaland’ protest reaches Delhi

NewsX | New Delhi | 9 July 2017: The demand for a separate ‘Gorkhaland’ from West Bengal has reached New Delhi with hundreds of protesters holding a protest march at Jantar Mantar on Sunday. Morcha supporters carried out protest march from Raj Ghat to Jantar Mantar.

Protesters belonging to Gorkha Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti (GSSS) staged ‘dharna’ asking the government to pay attention to their movement and asserted that they will be not willing to settle for anything else but Gorkhaland.

“We are not going to deviate this. We don’t want to talk about anything other than Gorkhaland. If the government invites us for anything else, then they better not do so. We are not going to settle for anything else,” said Rajiv Sharma, a member of GSSS protesting in the capital.

Earlier on Saturday, after a Gorkhaland supporter was found dead in Sonada, on the outskirts of Darjeeling, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) sought the intervention of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) citing human rights violation by the West Bengal government and police.

GJM in a letter to NHRC alleged that the police was creating problems for critical items like medicines and baby food to reach Darjeeling amid the indefinite band launched by the Morcha supporters.

Darjeeling continues to simmer under violent protests with the Morcha supporters intensifying the demand of separate Gorkhakland and indulging in widespread arson across the region.

The GJM supporters in Darjeeling protesting against CM Mamta Banerjee’s decision to make Bengali a compulsory subject to be taught in state schools up to Class 10 took a new turn with Morcha chief signalling to accelerate the protests while raising fresh demands for a separate Gorkhaland.  “The movement for Gorkhaland will be intensified,” said Bimal Gurung.

Following the violent protests, extra units of Paramilitary force CRPF and Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed in the state.