GJM to go for 'intense' statehood agitation from October 20

The agitation would ne peaceful, says GJM president Bimal Gurung

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, spearheading an agitation for a separate state in the Darjeeling hills, today said it would go in for an 'intense' agitation from October 20, asking people to be ready for it.

GJM president Bimal Gurung told the media here that the Centre and the West Bengal government have to respect their agitation which, he promised, would be kept democratic.

Later in a Facebook post, Gurung said, "We reiterate that our agitation will be democratic, but the government must respect it. We have seen many agitations in the past which were undemocratic."

Gurung also stuck to his earlier stand that GJM would participate only in tripartite talks, saying "I have clearly stated that GJM will not go for bilateral talks but we would go for tripartite Talks. We also understand that the Gorkhaland issue can be solved only through dialogue."

He said the Gorkhaland movement cannot be wiped out by force and it is their 'constitutional' right.

He took a swipe at the Trinamool Congress for alleging that the GJM received foreign funds, hinting at Nepal and said "we know very well where TMC gets money from".

GJM activists, meanwhile, are collecting money from the people of Darjeeling to fund their next phase of movement from October 20.

Earlier the Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee had suspended their indefinite agitation till October 20 in deference to the appeal by the Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to call off their agitation to facilitate tripartite talks. But it had set a condition that the talks have to be convened by October 20.