GJM, CPM clash during Siliguri rally

Singling out urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharya, a legislator from Siliguri, the party said the minister is trying to create "communal tension".

"Bhattacharya and the CPM are trying to create problems between Gorkhalis and Bengalis. He has been announcing that the hills are unsafe for tourists, which is not true. The police arrested our activists today. Our demand is that Mukul Sengupta and Shankar Ghosh of CPM's youth wing DYFI be arrested for attacking our supporters," GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told The Indian Express.

The cadres, he said, were observing the hungerstrike peacefully when CPM cadres led by Sengupta and Ghosh attacked them and the police began rounding them up.

"They beat up a lot of our people and used highly abusive language. Not even the women were spared. We were not allowed to hold our proposed rally in Siliguri, our hunger-strike is getting disrupted as well," he added.

Special Inspector General of Police DP Lepcha, who is also DIG (Darjeeling Range), said the police were in the process of apprehending GJM cadres from the front of the SDO office in Siliguri, when a rally displaying no banners or placards reached the spot. "We were transferring the GJM supporters to the police van. Both sides shouted slogans and a section of the rally tried to assault GJM supporters inside the van. A large police contingent was called in and it averted what could have been a major clash. Police are still patrolling at sensitive points in Siliguri. We suspect the rally was organised by the DYFI," said Lepcha.

Refuting the GJM claims, CPM Darjeeling district committee secretary Jivesh Sarkar said: "They (GJM) are trying to organise a movement for pressing for the Gorkhaland demand from Siliguri, which is a part of the plains. Law and order in Siliguri was turning grave. At any point, there was possibility of a major clash." A massacre was in the offing when thousands, including some Gorkhalis opposed to Gorkhaland tried to attack GJM supporters.

"We reached there and along with police and district administration, succeeded in tackling the situation. We have decided to organise rallies and meetings in different parts of the district," he said. Shankar Ghosh, district secretary, DYFI, said his cadres did not hold any rally to counter the GJM agitation.

"The locals of Siliguri protested against the GJM agitation as the GJM leadership led by Bimal Gurung are trying to create differences between the plains and the hills."