Protests for separate Gorkhaland continue in Siliguri - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The students' wing of Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJMM), who are spearheading the movement for a separate Gorkhaland state, blocked the national highway-55 (NH-55) here on Thursday. The activists asserted that their organisation should be given a blanket NOC (no objection certificate) to hold public meetings and rallies at any place from Siliguri and Jalpaiguri or Terai Dooars regions to Darjeeling. "West Bengal goverment should allow students to conduct rally and mass meetings. This is our fundamental and constitutional right and we cannot be deprived of it. Government cannot deny it. When Chief Minister of West Bengal and CPM leaders can hold rallies outside legislatures and the parliament, why object if we are asking for our rights that they talk about law and order. This is no justice," said Keshab Raj Pokhrail, Assistant Secretary of GJMM Student Wing. The GJMM activists have also warned that they would restrict the movement of all government vehicles including the police in the hills area. Gorkhas have been demanding a separate state, to be carved out of West Bengal, to protect their culture and heritage. The Gorkha population in West Bengal is estimated to be around a million.