Shops shut in Kurseong during the bandh on Monday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

New Delhi. Dec. 14: Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh today asked the Lok Sabha to collectively intervene to defuse the growing tension in the hills after the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha decided to go ahead with its hunger strike.

Warning parliamentarians against ignoring the people of Darjeeling, Singh asked the House to appeal to protesting Morcha leaders to call off their indefinite fast for statehood and to return to the talks table.

The fourth round of tripartite talks — between the Morcha and the central and state governments — will be held on December 21.

The Morcha, however, has called off its 96-hour bandh, a part of its movement that had gained fresh impetus following the Centre’s decision to carve out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.

“Darjeeling is our guardian. People of Darjeeling have fought for India and have been our saviours for years. This is an emotional issue for them,” the former foreign minister said making a rare appearance in the Lok Sabha this session.

The appeal from the House, Singh said, should specifically ask the Morcha to refrain from blocking National Highway 31A. The highway is Sikkim’s only road link to the rest of the country and is affected every time Darjeeling calls a strike.

Singh contested finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s statement last week suggesting that the creation of Telangana -— announced by the Centre -— was a one-off decision. Mukherjee’s comments had come after a series of demands for separate states from across the country flowed in, following the decision to form Telangana.

“Granting statehood is not a matter of principle. It is an issue of governance and of emotions,” said Singh, who had won from Darjeeling riding piggyback on Morcha support.

Despite being a part of Bengal, Darjeeling had largely been ignored by the state, the former BJP leader alleged.

Singh urged the Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani “not to forget the party manifesto”. The BJP had in its election manifesto, released before the Lok Sabha polls in May, said it was in favour of small states. It had not incorporated or made any specific reference to “Gorkhaland” but had said that the party would “sympathetically examine.the long pending demands of the Gorkhas”.