GJM to take out rally for Gorkhaland in Delhi Friday

Emboldened by the passage of the Telangana bill in parliament, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Thursday said it will bring out a rally in the capital Friday to demand the central government take a "unilateral decision" to form Gorkhaland "despite protest from the rest of West Bengal".

In a post on Facebook, GJM president Bimal Gurung said his outfit would organise a rally in New Delhi Friday to press for its demand for the new state to be carved out of parts of northern West Bengal.

Gurung said the GJM would also send a delegation to talk to all national parties.

"We are, confident that the centre will sooner rather than latter respect the sentiments of the Gorkhaland area and will take an unilateral decision on creating Gorkhaland despite protest from the rest of Bengal," he said.

The GJM asserted that with the Telangana bill getting the parliamentary nod without the consent of the Andhra Pradesh assembly, his outfit would now take the Gorkhland movement to Delhi.

Iterating that his fight was not with the state, Gurung said: "The state as no role in creating new states."

"The recent Telengana development has now reversed a precedent of seeking the state government's nod in rearranging a state's boundary," he said after a meeting of the GJM central committee at Kurseong in Darjeeling district of northern West Bengal.

"The Telengana Bill was passed without the nod of the state assembly. The centre had earlier set a precedent for the state assembly to pass a bill in its assembly before rearranging its boundary but with Telengana, the centre has overruled this decision."

Gurung also announced that a "massive rally" will be organised March 2 at Sukna in Darjeeling district.

The GJM stepped up its movement for Gorkhaland - to be formed out of Darjeeling district and parts of Jalpaiguri district - following the Congress-led UPA's endorsement of Telangana last year.

But it seemingly buckled under a massive crackdown by the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government and later adopted a reconciliatory approach, apparently putting the Gorkhaland demand on the backburner.