Calcutta, June 9: Hills affairs minister Asok Bhattacharya today termed the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s statehood struggle “fascist” and said he did not rule out “external backing” keeping the movement alive.

“Their demands are out of touch with reality. Their movement is undemocratic and unjustified. Their moves are all about fascist muscle- flexing now. The Morcha is toeing the line of the Ulfa in Assam,” Bhattacharya said at Writers’ Buildings this afternoon.

“There could be external backing to its movement. One cannot rule out the possibility,” said the Siliguri MLA.

Bhattacharya said the indefinite bandh was “very unfortunate”.

“The government will do everything possible to help the tourists reach home safely,” he added.

He said: “They (the Morcha leaders) want to conduct meetings and rallies in Naxalbari and other places that are not even part of their movement. They just want to export their brand of disruptive politics from the hills to other parts of north Bengal.”

The minister said the Morcha needed to understand that its demand for a separate state was utopian and would never be realised.

“They have been told time and again by the chief minister himself that a separate state is out of the question. They need to settle down and agree to discuss and negotiate,” Bhattacharya said.

“That way, we might grant them regional autonomy and consider certain other demands too,” he added.