322 activists arrested, Gorkhaland strike off,

DHNS, Kolkata, Aug 15, 2013: Political atmosphere still remains restless. After almost a fortnight, Darjeeling seemed to have returned to its original glory as the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) relaxed its indefinite strike for four days on August 15.

The political atmosphere, however, remains restless as the state government continued to arrest GJM leaders and supporters in a bid to keep the situation under control.

To ease the situation, Governor M K Narayanan has expressed interest in mediating between the state government and the GJM, if Morcha president Bimal Gurung was willing to talk to him. 

“There is no magical wand to solve the problem. It is the responsibility of the state government to restore peace in Darjeeling,” he said on the sidelines of a flag-hoisting ceremony at Gandhi Bhawan in eastern Kolkata.

Despite the Governor’s overtures, Gurung seemed steadfast on his stand as he wrote in a Facebook post, “On this great day, the nation needs to remember the Gorkha voice has not been heard. Our plea has been overlooked. We have not been able to change the mindset of our adversaries. But our justified fight will go on despite all obstacles. We will not lose faith in the Constitution and the nation to give us justice.”

Gurung said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must hear our prayer and spare a thought for us. Our democratic and peaceful movement is being forcefully crushed.Gurung alleged that the state government’s “clamping down with draconian measures is to instill fear” which he believed would further alienate people and make their resolve stronger.  

The arrests continued till Thursday, with five GJM supporters and two Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) members, taking the number up to 322, said police sources in Darjeeling.  GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told reporters that an all-party meeting on Friday will chalk out a future course of action. The meeting to appoint a successor to Gurung, who resigned as CEO of the autonomous GTA, has been scheduled for August 25 instead of August 16, as announced earlier, he added.Meanwhile, people flocked to markets and queued up in large numbers outside ATMs. 

(Source & Courtesy: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/351387/gorkhaland-strike-off-322-activists.html)