Over 1.5 lakh turn up for GJM’s Siliguri rally

For the GJM, this was a challenge thrown to West Bengal Urban Development Minister Ashok Bhattacharjee, who had recently announced that not an inch of Siliguri would be spared.

Bimal Gurung, who is emerging as a new hero of the Darjeeling hills, said: “Each and every inch of Siliguri has to be part of the Gorkhaland state. But those staying here should not fear. They won’t have to leave the town. Gorkhaland would only enhance their prosperity. It would ensure better development, better industry and better life.”

He set a deadline for things to move forward in support of the statehood demand. There is nothing more precious than the recognition of the hill people’s identity, which they will get only with a separate state, he said.

He said things should start moving by July. Else, the GJM has its own blueprint to enforce its writ over the hill people.

Gurung said nearly 10,000 Gorkhas have already been recruited who would act as the Gorkhaland police after July, to enforce and implement Darjeeling’s own set of rules. Vehicles having registration from the Darjeeling district would have to use “GL”, meaning Gorkhaland, as a mandatory step to operate within Darjeeling, he warned.

There was loud applause and approval form the massive crowd after they listened to the announcements. As many as 7,500 Gorkha volunteers were deployed by the GJM leadership at the rally ground, Indira Gandhi Maidan, on Wednesday.

Not a single person from the rally was allowed to enter the Siliguri town, where shops and establishments remained closed in response to a bandh call given by a little known organisation, Bangla and Bangla Bhasha Bachao Committee.

The police said the ground could accommodate nearly 2 lakh people and the turnout was no less than that.

The GJM leaders also set a deadline of May 15 for arresting those who assaulted the hill people during a rally on May 2 near Siliguri. “We have the evidence and pictures, and the administration knows who were responsible. They have to be arrested,” announced a GJM leader. If the administration fails to comply, Siliguri and the hills would once again be paralysed indefinitely, they added.