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Darjeeling hills on fire: Mamata Banerjee ready for talks now
As the indefinite shutdown in the Darjeeling hills entered its 24th day on Saturday, the Army was redeployed after Gorkhaland supporters torched a police outpost, a toytrain station and clashed with the police at two places. Two Army columns have been deployed - one in Darjeeling and another in Sonada.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday urged the political parties in the Darjeeling hills to return to the path of peace and sit with the government for talks.
"The government is ready for talks with the hill parties, but peace has to be ushered in. The government has shown enough restraint in the interest of the people of the hills. Peace has to return to the hills," she said here.
As the indefinite shutdown in the Darjeeling hills entered its 24th day on Saturday, the Army was redeployed after Gorkhaland supporters torched a police outpost, a toytrain station and clashed with the police at two places. Two Army columns have been deployed - one in Darjeeling and another in Sonada.
Three people were allegedly killed in police firing. The police however denied these reports. As news of the death spread, hundreds of Gorkhaland supporters came out on the streets and raised slogans against alleged "police atrocities". They clashed with the police and set on fire a police outpost at Sonada and the toytrain station of the Darjeeling- Himalayan Railways, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Banerjee hit out at the Centre on Saturday, alleging "non-cooperation" in responding to her government's request for four companies of Central forces for maintenance of law and order in the Hills.
"The violence in Darjeeling is a planned one. There are foreign links to this violence. We had sent requisitions for Central forces at least on four occasions in the last one month, but they didn't act. If we had got paramilitary forces in the right time, situation would not have aggravated and today's incident of violence would not have happened," Banerjee said.
She alleged that the Central government is not cooperating at the behest of the BJP leaders in the state.
"You have become a political government and not working for the people of the country," she said.
Appealing to the agitators to shun violence, she said, "Let the government send food and essential items and allow the children to return to schools. If you allow it, we can even call you for talks in 10-15 days."
In a statement tonight, the GJM, however, said the doors for talks with Banerjee and the state government are "closed forever". It said it was willing to holds with the Centre on the issue of Gorkhaland.
