Raju Bista faces tough challenge within BJP in Darjeeling
Breaking the BJP’s tradition in Darjeeling, sitting MP Raju Bista has won the first round as his name was announced by the party as a candidate from Darjeeling LS constituency.
All the parties participating in the GJM-sponsored all party meeting in Darjeeling on Tuesday unanimously decided to continue the indefinite strike in the north West Bengal hills in demand of a separate Gorkhaland state and to protest the alleged police atrocities and high-handedness in the region.
The representatives of 12 political including the Congress and BJP that participated in Tuesday's meeting also vowed to boycott the state government announced all party meeting on June 22 in Siliguri.
"All of us agreed on the one point agenda of separate Gorkhaland. The indefinite strike in the hills would continue as a protest against the police high-handedness and atrocities on the people of the hills," Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) Assistant Secretary Binay Tamang told IANS.
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"All the political parties that participated in today's meeting, would boycott the all-party meeting called by the state government on June 22 in Siliguri," he added.
The GJM leader also said that they would urge the Central government to intervene in the current situation of unrest in the hills and also put forward the demand of Gorkhaland.
"We have already asked for Centre's intervention regarding the issue of Gorkhaland and the present situation in the Darjeeling hills. That part is also discussed in the meeting," he said.
Apart from the convener GJM, major political parties in the hills including ex-Trinamool Congress ally Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), Harka Bahadur Chettri's Jana Andolan Party, Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League and a non-political organisation named Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh participated in the meeting.
The representatives of Congress and BJP were also present.
Meanwhile, sporadic incidents of violence and multiple rallies amid the patrolling of security forces marked the sixth day of the indefinite shutdown in the hills.
Braving the heavy downpour, several pro Gorkhaland activists flooded the streets of Kalimpong shouting slogans like "we want Gorkhaland"
Similer rallies were organised in Darjeeling and Mirik.
In Darjeeling, a mob allegedly vandalised and torched a state government vehicle in front of the building of the Information and Culture Department. Two security guards were injured during the scuffle.
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