CPRM’s rally to Siliguri stopped

Siliguri, Aug. 25: The rally taken out by CPRM workers from Darjeeling to Siliguri in demand of Gorkhaland was stopped today by police at Panchnoi, 4km from the destination.

The procession organised to protest the agreement to from Gorkhaland Territorial Administration had started from Sukna this morning. Around 400 CPRM supporters were stopped at a police barricade after covering 4km on NH55.

“We plans to walk on the streets of Siliguri to raise our demand for the separate state and point out that the GTA had miserably failed to meet our aspirations,” said Govind Chhetri, the organisational head of the CPRM.

“We had halted at Sukna yesterday and started for Siliguri today. The police, however, raised a barricade on NH55 and stopped us at Panchnoi. They said our entry to Siliguri might lead to deterioration of law and order and if we tried to move further, all of us would be arrested.”

The marchers led by party general secretary Taramoni Rai and leaders like Arun Ghatany and Kishore Pradhan held placards and shouted slogans in favour of Gorkhaland and against the GTA accord. The rally had started from Darjeeling on Tuesday.

Around 70 policemen, led by additional superintendent of police of Siliguri Amit P. Javalgi and deputy superintendent of police Pradip Pal, were posted at Panchnoi to stop the march. A meeting was organised at the very spot and the speakers slammed the government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha without naming the party.

“A hill party (Morcha) secured favourable mandate from the people in the Assembly polls by promising Gorkhaland. But later, they compromised and formed the GTA. We condemn such political moves, which have left the hill people disappointed,” said Chhetri.

In Siliguri, 12 supporters of the Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Banchao Committee, which had threatened to stop the CPRM rally from approaching town, were arrested this morning. Around 10.45am, Mukunda Majumdar, the president of the Bhasha Banchao Committee, reached Darjeeling More with his supporters and started a demonstration. Police soon reached the spot and whisked the protesters away.

The Telegraph