Mamata's opposition to state division unconstitutional: GJM

Taking further its tug-of-war with the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government over the Gorkhaland issue, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Wednesday said it was unconstitutional for the chief minister to say the state cannot be divided.

"Statehood is about our identity, about our right to self-determination. Just as Mamata Banerjee says she is from Bengal, we too want to say we are from Gorkhaland. It's unconstitutional for the chief minister to say Bengal cannot be divided," GJM supremo Bimal Gurung said.

Quoting the constitution which allows creation of a new state by separation of territory from an existing state, Gurung said Banerjee's statement that Bengal cannot be divided was violative of the statute.

"No person is above the law or the Indian Constitution. Gorkhaland is a justified and a constitutional demand," added Gurung in a Facebook post.

With the Gorkha outfit intensifying its separatist movement in the Darjeeling hills, Banerjee has been reiterating that the state cannot be divided.