Darjeeling unrest: All-party talks fail, indefinite bandh to continue

DARJEELING: Fourteen political and non-political groups debated for more than five hours at the Gymkhana Club without making much headway into the Gorkhaland agitation, keeping alive Darjeeling deadlock that reached its thirteenth day on Tuesday.

The participants, some of whom have fought pitched battle among themselves in the past, were unanimous on one goal — the agitation will continue till the state accepts their demands.

It was also decided that the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which is spearheading the movement, will withdraw from the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) at the earliest and would eventually relinquish all government positions.

The parties demanded complete withdrawal of the central forces and immediate end to police actions in the region.

“The onus of bringing the Hills back to normalcy is on the Mamata Banerjee government as it was the government which disturbed peace here. The government has to stop all kinds of repressive actions, the internet facilities must be restored and human rights of the people have to be returned immediately.

Till these demands are fulfilled, the strike will continue,” said GJM central committee member P Arjun. An all-India, allparty delegation will soon meet PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi, he said. “The state government must reconsider its rigid stand on making Bengali compulsory in schools and on the age-old demand of Gorkhas.”

The Tuesday meeting called by GJM brought the GNLFand the All India Gorkha League — two of its erstwhile rivals — together, along with its ally BJP, Hill Congress, CPRM, and some social organisations.