Darjeeling unrest: GJM puts off shutdown, Mamata Banerjee welcomes it

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on Thursday put off its indefinite shutdown in the Darjeeling hills from Friday till next round of talks with the state government, a move welcomed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The shutdown has been suspended till September 12, when the talks are scheduled to take place, GJM convenor Binay Tamang said here today.

Welcoming the move, Banerjee told newsmen at the state secretariat, “It’s a good news. We want restoration of peace and wellbeing of the people there (in Darjeeling).” The indefinite bandh for a separate Gorkhaland state had entered its 78th day today and normal life was hit during the period of agitation. “The indefinite bandh will remain suspended for 12 days from tomorrow. Shops, markets, offices, schools, tea gardens will open and transport will be on the road from 6 am tomorrow,” Tamang told reporters after the party’s central committee meeting here.

“If the outcome of the dialogue is not positive, we will convene a meeting on the same day and decide whether to resume the shutdown or chalk out a new course of action,” he said. GJM supremo Bimal Gurung, who is in hiding and was not present in the central committee meeting, however, …read more