West Bengal government at war with separatists demanding Gorkhaland

[Aka123]

CRPF personnel patrol during the indefinite strike called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha in Darjeeling.

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has issued a 72-hour deadline to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) asking them to withdraw the indefinite strike or face legal consequences.
GJM has enforced an indefinite strike in the three hill sub-divisions of West Bengal - Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong since August 3 demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland.
Armed with the Calcutta High Court order to maintain normalcy in Darjeeling hills and Governor N.K. Narayan’s statement blaming the Congress for inciting the demand for a separate state, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has sounded the war bugle.
“Enough is enough. I have tolerated for eight days. I am very rough and tough. I am giving 72 hours to withdraw the bandh. Do not force me to take strong action.
“The hills are a part and parcel of West Bengal. There can be no division of the state based on race,” Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.
Claiming that the GJM had become unpopular in the hills for forcibly enforcing the strike which was leading to harassment and hardship to the people there, she cited the high court order to ensure normal life in Darjeeling.
“I have some constitutional obligations. There is a high court order and also a Supreme Court order on such forceful strikes,” she said.
When questioned about her government’s willingness to talk to GJM, she said: “There is no difficulty in holding talks if they withdraw the bandh. They can approach the chief secretary and the home secretary. I have visited Darjeeling 25 times in the last two and half years and will go again,” she said.
State government officials inform that the state government will execute the pending arrest warrants against the GJM leaders Monday and issue non-bailable arrest warrants.
More than 250 GJM leaders, including its president Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri, have criminal cases registered against them.
However, GJM leaders showed no signs of let down. Speaking to Gulf News, Gurung said: “The people of the hills will not tolerate any high-handedness of the state government in what we believe is our legitimate demand.
“Let them put us behind bars, already many of our leaders have been arrested, but by all these undemocratic moves, the government cannot throttle our movement.
“This a protest of the people and it will continue and the ordinary people are fed up with the way the state government has been treating us for the last 66 years.”
“There will be no talks other than on creation of Gorkhaland. If Telangana is the 29th state of India, Gorkhaland will be the 30th.
“We demand Gorkhaland under Article 3A of the Constitution and indefinite strike will continue and there is only one solution,” he added.

West Bengal government at war with separatists demanding Gorkhaland | GulfNews.com