Bandh in Darjeeling hills amid calls for reviving Gorkhaland

The Army was out on streets in Darjeeling and two other hill towns in West Bengal which observed a shut-down today amid a renewed call by the influential Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) for revival of Gorkhaland agitation.
The GJM, which rules the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), had called a 12-hour bandh against the Mamata Banerjee government's decision to introduce Bengali language in schools even in the hills, a day after Darjeeling, the verdant north Bengal town known the world over for its tea industry, witnessed large-scale violence.
Banerjee, who held a meeting of her cabinet in Darjeeling yesterday, and stayed back to take stock of the situation in view of the bandh, called it "illegal" and warned of "stern" action against those who engaged in violence and vandalism.

GJM chief Bimal Gurung while declaring that the agitation would be taken forward in a "democratic way", challenged Banerjee to stop it, asserting "his writ runs in the hills". He also proclaimed himself as the "chief minister of the hills".
Six Army columns conducted flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, a defence spokesperson said, adding the situation was under control.
Darjeeling town, brimming over with tourists, had witnessed violence yesterday when GJM supporters clashed with the police and burnt government vehicles.

Banerjee asked tourists not to panic and said government buses would ferry them out of the town to Siliguri on the plains. The state government has also arranged buses to take the tourists from Siliguri to Kolkata, she said.

The chief minister said a three-member team of senior IPS officers has been constituted to look after the law and order situation in Darjeeling.
Though shops and business establishments remained closed, Banerjee claimed government offices recorded 98 to 100 per cent attendence in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik.
Gurung, whose GJM has been ruling the GTA since 2011, said the agitation would continue until the time Gorkhaland was created.
The GJM leader said he will directly talk to the Centre over the deployment of Army and "police atrocities" on innocent people.
"I will talk to the Centre, we are an ally of NDA. We will give them all the details of police atrocities on the innocent people of the hills," he said.

Gurung also accused the West Bengal government of hatching a conspiracy by announcing a "special audit" of funds allotted to the GTA.
He also questioned the "arbitrary" removal of GTA secretary Ravi Inder Singh last night by the state government.
"The state government is trying to undermine the authority of GTA. They are violating the GTA pact. Who gave the state government the right to arbitrarily remove the principal secretary of GTA without informing us?" he wanted to know.
"We are open to any kind of audit. The state government is plotting to malign us in the name of special audit. That is why they had removed the principal secretary of GTA," Gurung told PTI.

Banerjee, who visited some areas and interacted with people during the bandh, warned the GJM against crossing the "Lakshman rekha".
"There is a limit to everything. Strong action will be taken if they cross the limit," she warned.
"The police will do its work and law will take its own course. Nobody is above law. Government is very tough. They will take action against those who are doing this vandalism," she said when asked about the kind of action the government was contemplating against the GJM chief.
Last night, an FIR was filed under non-bailable sections at the Darjeeling Sadar police station against Gurung and GJM general secretary Roshan Giri.

Maintaining that introduction of Bengali language in schools was not the issue, Banerjee said, Gurung-led Gorkhaland Territorial Administration had failed to carry out development work in the hills, and when its term was scheduled to be over next month, it has started "torturing the public".
"The previous Left Front government and the Centre had shown them (GJM) indulgence," she said. She admitted her own government also "compromised" with them for some time.
Urging people in the hills not to support Gurung, she said GJM was scaring away tourists from the hills which would adversely affect people who were dependent on tourism for their living.

The chief minister, who visited the injured police personnel in the hospital, said the state government would give compensation to their families and bear their medical expenses.
She said a policeman, who received injuries in his eyes during yesterday's violence, will be airlifted to Kolkata for further treatment. If necessary, he would be taken abroad, she said.
When asked about deployment of Army in Darjeeling, Governor K N Tripathi said in Kolkata, "I am yet to receive any official communication."
Darjeeling hills had seen a violent movement for a separate Gorkhaland in the mid 1980s under Subhash Ghisingh. The movement ended with the establishment of a semi-autonomous administrative body in 1988 called Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, which was headed by Ghisingh.

As Ghisingh's influence waned over time, the GJM launched another movement for a separate state of Gorkhaland. In 2011, the GJM signed an agreement with the state and central governments and another semi-autonomous administrative unit GTA was born replacing the DGHC.