Mamata calls for peace in Darjeeling, flies to Netherlands
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has appealed to the people of Darjeeling to maintain peace and calm in the region, before heading to the Netherlands. She said that her ministers were monitoring the situation, after three activists of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) were allegedly killed in police firing. Protestors carried out a rally with the coffins of those killed.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed for calm and peace after a weekend of violence in Darjeeling hills, where the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is observing an indefinite shutdown. Uneasy calm prevailed on Sunday after GJM activists were allegedly shot dead by security forces in clashes on Saturday. The protesters, who are pressing for a separate state of Gorkhaland, took out a large rally on Sunday with the bodies of activists allegedly killed in police firing. CM Banerjee, who left for the Netherlands today to address a United Nations meet, accused GJM of trying to create an "ethnic" divide in Darjeeling and said violence won't be tolerated. The Darjeeling bandh, which was sparked over the West Bengal government's purported decision to make Bengali compulsory in state schools, completed a week today. ALSO READ | Darjeeling hills burn over Gorkhaland: Why Bimal Gurung must recall 2009 Supreme Court guidelines