New Delhi:
While the Centre decides how to cope with the backlash to sanctioning a separate Telangana state, other regional parties are quoting the Telangana example to get more aggressive for their own campaigns for new states.
First off the mark, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GMM), which has decided to adopt the hunger strike model of protest. In Telangana, K Chandrasekhar Rao's indefinite fast was one of the main reasons for the Centre's decision to grant a new state.
The GMM has also called for a 96-hour bandh in the Darjeeling Hills, starting December 14. Besides the bandh, a fast-unto-death will be observed by 21 GJM members in the hill areas of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, besides Siliguri in the plains, GJM president Bimal Gurung had said.
Supporting the Gorkha demand for a new state carved out of West Bengal, former BJP leader Jaswant Singh, who is an MP from Darjeeling, said, "It is important that the government recognises the validity of this demand. It is the oldest demand for separate statehood. It is over a 100 years ago, first raised in 1907. It is necessary that the government recognises the relevance, validity and justness of this demand."