Darjeeling: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday dubbed separatists as ‘extortionists’, a day after the under-pressure Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) reconciled with her government and announced it would work jointly with her for development.
“There are some who always indulge in the politics of divide and rule. They have no other work but to demand a new state every now and then. They have no other work but to clamour ‘break up Darjeeling, break up Siliguri’.
“They do it only to extort money,” Banerjee said at a government programme at Matigara near Siliguri of Darjeeling district, without naming the GJM – which has been spearheading the agitation for a Gorkhaland state in the northern Bengal hills.
“I have seen and taken part in many agitations, but I will never support any movement which leads to bloodshed. I always support movements which are constructive, which are for the welfare of the people,” she added.
Banerjee blamed the erstwhile Left Front government for neglecting the development of Darjeeling hills, and enumerated a host of developmental projects initiated by her government for turning the region into a “tourism hub”. (IANS)
