Mamata Banerjee assures to restore normalcy in violence-hit Darjeeling

Darjeeling: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has assured that she will restore normalcy in restive Darjeeling district, which has been badly hit by a shut down called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) over the government`s proposal to make Bengali a compulsory language in all government schools.

The GJM has been demanding Nepali or Hindi as a language instead of Bengali.

"Everything will be normal tomorrow. Buses will start plying. We have informed Kolkata Police to help in the matter. We will also conduct a meeting with the police and other DGPs to review the situation," Banerjee said. 

Normal life has come to a halt in the hills after the GJM staged a shutdown to protest against the move to impose Bengali in government schools. Many shops and markets were shut down and vehicles stayed off the roads in Darjeeling. An under-construction building near Darjeeling was reportedly torched by the GJM workers.

A senior West Bengal minister on Friday alleged that the BJP has a hand in Darjeeling violence and had held parleys with GJM leaders in Kolkata a few days before the protest.

"When the chief minister was holding a series of meetings to provide drinking water and other civic amenities to the people of the hills, leaders of GJM were holding parleys with BJP leaders in Kolkata," Education and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee told in a press conference.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Friday said that there was “no other alternative” but a separate state of Gorkhaland. GJM general secretary Roshan Giri, who has been booked along with party chief Bimal Gurung under non-bailable sections, said: “People of the hills now want nothing but Gorkhaland. There is no other alternative. We are hearing that the government is trying to frame charges against our leaders and arrest them. If they dare to do so, the crisis will worsen.”

The chief minister took the decision to seek the Centre`s help in an emergency meeting held at Rajbhawan in which 30 ministers and delegates, including Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee, participated. Two army columns were deployed in the town at the request of Banerjee to maintain law and order.

(With Agency Input)