The army was called in by the Mamata Banerjee administration in Darjeeling on Thursday after police failed to control the situation after thousands of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters set fire to police vehicles, a government bus and attacked the police with stones and bottles.
This is the first time that the armed forces were called to tackle the situation since Mamata Banerjee assumed charge in March 2011. The last time the government took the help of the armed forces to restore law and order was in 2010 in Deganga in North 24 Parganas.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee and more than two dozen of her ministers were only half a km away after she held the first cabinet meeting in the hills after a gap of 45 years.
A number of GJM supporters are policemen were injured in the clashes but none could put a number to it. Morcha supporters rained stones and bottles at the policemen, who replied with lathis and tear gas shells.
GJM leaders had vowed to organise agitation to protest against the announcement of the chief minister last week when she said Bengali has to be compulsorily taught to students up to class 10 in schools in Bengal.
Another vehicle which was torched by the agitators in Darjeeling. (HT Photo)
While chief minister was chairing a meeting of the state cabinet at the Raj BHavan, thousands of GJM supporters assembled to agitate near the venue. They kept raising slogans.
Clashes erupted after the end of the cabinet meeting while the chief minister came out to address the media waiting outside. GJM supporters tried to burn her effigy and started throwing stones at the huge police contingent.
Police resorted to massive lathicharge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the violent mob. But the GJM supporters did not relent and set fire to four police vehicles.
GJM president Bimal Gurung said that he will announce a major agitation programme shortly.
Ministers of Mamata Banerjee's cabinet in Darjeeling on Thursday before the cabinet meeting. (HT Photo)
While the clashes between the police and GJM supporters were going on, the chief minister was hardly half a kilometers away from the spot.
The administration asked the local channels to go off air till further notice. Incidentally, police had to fire tear gas shells, wield lathis and use water cannons in Kolkata on May 22 and 25 to tackle agitation programmes by CPI(M) and BJP respectively.
Earlier while addressing the cabinet meeting, the chief minister told her cabinet colleagues that there was no necessity to attach much importance to GJM's continued protest. "They are trying to make issue out of a non- issue and giving importance to their agitation will just highlight them" she said.
Another police vehicle that was torched by the Morcha supporters. Tourists were terribly inconvenienced by the clashes. (HT Photo)
The taste of victory at the recently concluded Mirik municipality elections has triggered political ambitions of the ruling party to secure a foothold in the hills.
The chief minister also announced that the government will set up a mini-secretariat for the hills in Darjeeling.
"The mini-secretariat will be named after legendary mountaineer, Tenzing Norgay," Mamata Banerjee said after the cabinet meeting. Incidentally, there is already a mini-secretariat in the foothills of Siliguri.
The chief minister also announced a new polytechnic college and a skill development centre at Mirik.
At the cabinet meeting a decision was taken to form West Bengal Higher Civil Service Commission was taken. "We are running short of IAS officers. In the current system, a West Bengal Civil Service officer takes at least 25 years to be eligible for promotion to IAS rank. But with the formation of this commission, a WBCS officers can be promoted as an IAS officer within 10 years from the beginning of this service life, Mamata Banerjee said after the cabinet meeting.
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