Siliguri Bengalis oppose Gorkhaland
May 15th, 2009 - 3:25 pm ICT by ANI
Siliguri, May 15 (ANI): Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Bachao Committee, which is opposing the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland to be carved out of West Bengal, has called for one-day strike in Siliguri.
Few vehicles plied on the roads and shops were closed. Most of the people stayed indoors.
The organization is demanding re-election for the Darjeeling constituency. Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Bachao Committee believes that the elections in Darjeeling hills were completely unfair.
“First of all the election was illegal. This election in the Darjeeling constituency must be made null and void. Secondly, there should be a re-election not only in the Darjeeling Hill Council but whole of the Darjeeling constituency,” said Mukunda Majumder, president, Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Bachao Committee.
The organization also burnt effigies of Jaswant Singh, a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Darjeeling seat and Bimal Gurung, Chief of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJMM) for supporting the Gorkhaland statehood demand.
The Central Government, the State Government of West Bengal and the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), an organization which is demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, signed an agreement in 1988, paving the way for setting up of the Autonomous Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (ADGHC).
However, a breakaway faction of GNLF in early 2008 set up the GJMM which over the past couple of months has been spearheading the agitation for the separate state of Gorkhaland. (ANI)
- Shutdown in Siliguri against separate state demand - May 14, 2010
- Protest in Siliguri against formation of a separate Gorkhaland - Sep 07, 2010
- Half-day hunger strike staged in West Bengal against Gorkhaland demand - Dec 15, 2009
- Bangla group's shutdown call evokes partial response - Jan 17, 2011
- Gorkha National Liberation Front to boycott polls - Apr 13, 2009
- A non-political outfit calls for 48-hour shutdown in Siliguri - Jan 16, 2011
- Bangla group's shutdown in Siliguri cripples life - Jan 16, 2011
- Darjeeling pact signed amid euphoria and protests (Roundup) - Jul 18, 2011
- Anti-Gorkhaland body calls 24-hour shutdown in Silliguri - Mar 18, 2010
- GJM's Gorkhaland movement a failure: Ghising - Apr 10, 2011
- Jaswant arrives in Darjeeling to a rousing reception - Apr 07, 2009
- Darjeeling accord an alarm signal: CPI-M - Jul 17, 2011
- Ghising returns to Darjeeling after three years - Apr 08, 2011
- GJM shutdown paralyses life in Darjeeling hills - Jan 18, 2011
- No statehood but talks on to solve Gorkhaland problem: home secretary - Dec 21, 2009
Tags: agitation, bangla, bharatiya janata party, bjp, breakaway faction, central government, constituency, darjeeling hills, effigies, elections, gorkha, government of west bengal, jaswant singh, national liberation front, paving the way, state government, statehood
