Feb. 7: Supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today started a fast-unto-death, demanding that members of the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, which is scrutinising the bill conferring Sixth Schedule status on the hills, visit Darjeeling.
The hunger strike, said Binay Tamang, the press and publicity secretary of the Morcha, would continue till an announcement was made on the committee’s visit. “
In Darjeeling, 21 people are on fast in front of the district magistrate's office. Nine of them are women. “The team is being headed by Urmila Rumba, president of the Nari Morcha,” said Tamang.
The committee was scheduled to visit Darjeeling yesterday. Opposition parties alleged that the Bengal government had cited law and order problem to cancel the tour. “This (the cancellation of the visit) is a conspiracy by Subash Ghisingh and the state government against the people of the hills and we will not tolerate this,” said Tamang.
The grouse of the Morcha is that by not coming to the hills, the parliamentary team, which is studying the feasibility of the Sixth Schedule status for Darjeeling, will not able to gauge the mood of the majority of the people who, the party believes, wants statehood.
In Kalimpong, the fasting Morcha supporters were led by the local unit president of the party, Kalyan Dewan. Armed with blankets and quilts to ward of the chill, the protesters sat in a tent, pledging not to budge from there till their voices are heard.
Pradhan bail
The court of the sessions judge in Darjeeling today granted interim bail to I.N. Pradhan, the president of the GNLF Kurseong Branch Committee, till February 20, 2008.
Pradhan was arrested on January 25 for allegedly firing from an unlicensed gun at Morcha supporters at Gayabari three days before that.
Neeraj Zimba, one of the lawyers of Pradhan, has filed an FIR alleging that he was threatened by Morcha supporters on the court campus.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment