Prepare for final battle for Gorkhaland, Bimal Gurung tells people

Darjeeling: Gorkha Janamukti Morcha supremo Bimal Gurung on Friday asked the people in the hill station to be prepared for the "final battle" for achieving the separate Gorkhaland state.

"I urge the people to get prepared for the final battle as the time has come for a do or die fight if we want to achieve our dream of Gorkhaland," he said in a message from an undisclosed location circulated among the people of the hill town.

Gurung's message comes in the backdrop of the police raid at his premises at Singhmari and Patlebas here yesterday.

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said, "Time for autonomy, GTA, DGHC is over. Now the fight will not stop until and unless our demand for Gorkhaland is fulfilled."

Jan Andolan Party (JAP) leader Harka Bahadur Chetri criticised the Mamata Banerjee government for trying to counter the movement by deploying security forces.

"It will further alienate the people in the hills. The solution cannot be found by deploying the police", Chetri, a former GJM MLA who had formed JAP, said, while stressing that a meeting should be called to tackle the situation.

"Our first demand too is Gorkhaland, but it should be taken forward through dialogue," he added.