The Morcha rally at Chowrastha in Darjeeling on on Wednesday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, June 25: The relaxation in the indefinite bandh till July 5 has not gone down well with a section of the hills and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had to justify its decision at a rally today.

Immediately after Morcha president Bimal Gurung announced the breather yesterday, a poster had appeared at Chowk Bazar seeking an explanation from the party brass for the move.

The poster was torn down within minutes. But the message in the first poster against them since the Morcha’s formation eight months ago had reached the leaders.

The Morcha has been split into pro-bandh and anti-bandh factions and the differences came to the fore again as the two groups fought each other late last evening.

“We must understand that strikes do not only mean closing down shops for an indefinite period. The purpose of calling bandhs is to force the government to come to the negotiating table and fulfil our demands. What has happened yesterday (a reference to the poster) was not right. We will take action against the people who are not disciplined,” Alok Kant Mani Thulung, the president of the Morcha youth wing, told the rally at Chowrastha, where hundreds of people had assembled this morning braving rain.

Thulung, considered a hardliner within the Morcha, however, said there was a positive side to yesterday’s protests. “We must be happy that people opposed our relaxation. This shows that they are committed to the cause.”

Dinesh Gurung, an adviser to the Morcha town committee, justified the angry reactions to the shutdown relaxation. “Some people had sold their gold ornaments to stock up on foodgrain. We respect their commitment and the outburst that followed.”

Morcha central committee member D.K. Pradhan argued for the relaxation, saying the situation in Delhi must be taken into account. “We must understand that Bengal is looking for an excuse to curb our movement,” he said.

Morcha boss Bimal Gurung had yesterday stressed the need to “look to Delhi and Calcutta while going ahead with our movement”.

Many at the rally appeared to have appreciated the Morcha’s “compulsion” but many also felt let down.

“There was no pressure on the Morcha from the people. We should have carried on with the strike until we achieved something concrete,” said Rajesh Tamang.

He was also angry that the announcement was not made in the morning before the residents were forced into “panic shopping”.