It is now almost a month that the hills have been witnessing unrest and violence, demonstrated by the GJM, demanding for a separate statehood. The Centre was also urged to intervene to restore peace in the region, but no solution has been provided yet. The Mamata Banerjee-led government, instead of trying to hold talks and find a solution by peaceful means, is suppressing the protesters by police actions and deploying CRPF Regimes in the region. Also, the government has banned the supply of basic necessary goods in the region and blocked the internet also. These actions taken by the government has only added fuel to the protest.
Amid all this violence the recent clash between the WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and WB Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi has further increased the tensions between other parties of the state. To restore peace in the region CPIM and Left parties on Thursday met West Bengal governor and urged him to convince the state government to hold talks with GJM leaders and win the confidence of the people of Darjeeling.
The Left Front Legislative Party (LFLP) leader and CPIM MLA Sujan Chakraborty have also written a letter to the chief minister Mamata Banerjee and requested her to call for any emergency State Assembly session, to discuss the growing violence in the hills and demonstration of protest in some other parts of the state and reach to a solutions on the basis of consensus among all political parties.
Though BJP and Congress have taken the initiative and decided to send their party members to the regions of unrest and find the real cause behind them, CPIM and Left parties are yet to decide whether they would send their leaders in the region. The Left parties have also criticised the decision of the government to ban the supply chain of food and essential commodities in the hills.
The letter to the left parties read, “it is painful to note that the state of West Bengal, which has a glorious history and tradition of amity and unity among its people, now facing serious problems to maintain it. The situation in Darjeeling is deteriorating every day causing distress to the people of Darjeeling Hills and adjacent areas due to this untoward impasse. It is a matter of grave concern that the state government instead of taking appropriate measures to mitigate the cause of unrest and assuring the people their protection and restoration of normalcy is creating instigation. It is appropriate to declare a blockade of supply of food grains and essential commodities to the affected areas of Darjeeling Hills, until and unless the agitation is withdrawn.”