Gorkhaland demand enters 8th day; protest rallies continue in Darjeeling

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha questioned the absence of Darjeeling BJP MP S S Ahluwalia at the time of crisis.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters on Monday took out a protest rally in Darjeeling over a separate state for Gorkhas-Gorkhaland.

As of now no casualties reported on Monday. But the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha questioned the absence of Darjeeling BJP MP S S Ahluwalia at the time of crisis.

The GJM is an ally of the BJP and it was with the help of the GJM that the saffron party won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat twice in 2009 and 2014.

Darjeeling remained on the edge on Sunday as thousands of protesters assembled at the central Chowkbazar carrying the body of a GJM activist, who was killed during clashes with police and raised slogans demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland. The party has claimed that two of their supporters were shot dead by police in Singmari on Saturday. The police rejected the allegations of firing by its personnel, and said one person was killed during the clashes.

(With agency inputs)