Janta curfew spontaneous reaction of people, says GJM

The Gorkha Jamukti Morcha leadership today sought to take refuge in the public’s “anti-government sentiment” when confronted with the high court order declaring the ‘janta curfew’ illegal. It attributed the so-called people’s curfew to a spontaneous outrage to the state government’s “mishandling” of the ongoing situation in the Hills.
The janta curfew of the GJM was its response to chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s 72-hour deadline to call the strike off or face action. The high court has also asked the state government to ensure the Hills remain open and people not made to face inconveniences.
“We respect the High Court order and will abide by it. However, it is also true that the janta curfew is a spontaneous outrage of people over the way the present situation is being mishandled by the state government such as the unnecessary deployment of central forces to crush the ongoing peaceful statehood agitation. It is the people’s participation,” said GJM general secretary Roshan Giri.
However, the GJM leader refused to link to its activists the recent torching and destruction of government properties as has been adjudged by the high court, which has also asked why the party should not be summoned to compensate for the losses.
“We are trying to procure the high court order as we have not received it yet. Our activists were not involved in any arson and vandalism of government properties. We will sit with our legal cell and also explore the possibility of moving the Supreme Court in the coming days,” said Giri.
On the first two days of the bandh, GJM cadres allegedly set ablaze forest guest houses in Tukdah and Rimbick. A similar attempt was also made on a range office in Rimbick while
a police outpost in Sukhay Pokhari was torched.
But despite the state government and the high court coming hard at it heels, the GJM has refused to buckle down, instead asserting the statehood agitation would continue, albeit with a change in strategy.
“Ours is a rightful demand and should not be treated as a law and order situation. We will convene an all-parties meeting on August 16 in Darjeeling and decide on the future course of action,” said Giri.
“We will agitate democratically and with the full participation of the people. The people’s voice has to be heard by the government,” he added.
The GJM leader also said the central government, which has given a full hand to the state government to deal with the present situation, should not shy away from its responsibility as it too was a party to the GTA tripartite agreement.
“It is unfortunate that the central government is backtracking from responsibility being one of the signatories,” observed Giri.
The GJM has announced a four-day relaxation period to the ongoing indefinite strike after nine days of continuous shutdown and two days of the janata curfew.(EOI)