Kolkata, Jan 21 (IANS) The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), spearheading a movement for a separate Gorkhaland in the Darjeeling Hills, Wednesday asserted it will not budge from its demand for statehood.
'There's no question of giving up our demand for Gorkhaland. We've placed all our demands before Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and now we will see how fast the state government takes steps to resolve it,' GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told reporters here after emerging from a meeting at the state secretariat.
'We've also sought permission from the chief minister to hold meetings and rallies in the Dooars area of north Bengal. But Bhattacharjee told us not to hold any public meetings or rallies at this juncture since the situation is volatile there,' he added.
'We've also made it clear that if we're not allowed to hold meetings in the Dooars democratically, we'll have to move away from the Gandhian way of the movement and begin hunger strikes,' Giri said
The seven-member GJM delegation also demanded arrest of the miscreants who allegedly beat up GJM activists and set ablaze some houses in the plains. They asked the government to review and withdraw the 'false' cases against their leaders.
'The chief minister has promised action within seven days. We will see whether he gives us justice,' Giri said.
The GJM leader said the chief minister also agreed to arrange for free treatment of those injured in the recent violence in the Doars area in government hospitals and compensation for those whose houses have been damaged.
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