Police stop DRYF supporters at Clubside. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, April 28: Hundreds of people from across the hills today marched through Darjeeling to meet Subash Ghisingh at Lal Khoti — the administrative headquarters of the DGHC — but were stopped halfway by police.

Led by the DRYF, the CPRM’s youth wing, the Lal Khoti Jhau rally was testament to the growing popularity of the Opposition in the hills. The scale of participation in the rally was reminiscent of the Gorkhaland agitation, where thousands came and joined political rallies.

The rally began with around 2,500 CPRM supporters winding their way to the DGHC headquarters from Darjeeling Railway Station.

However, much before reaching their destination, a strong police contingent stopped the rallyists near Clubside. The procession then took another route and proceeded to Chowrastha.

In a move aimed at further embarrassing the GNLF, which had swept the hills with a demand for a separate state, the DRYF rally focussed on the Gorkhaland issue and reminded the people of the GNLF’s “failed” promise.

Even the memorandum prepared by the party, which was to be submitted to Subash Ghisingh, listed only two demands, The main one being a separate state of Gorkhaland. The other demand was to increase the use of Nepali in the daily work of the council.

Before the start of the rally itself, it had become clear that Subash Ghisingh would refuse to meet the demonstrators.

B.S. Thapa, private secretary to the DGHC chairman, had said it would not be possible for Ghisingh to meet any of the participants due to security reasons. In a communiqué issued to the DRYF, Thapa had asked its members to meet principal secretary D.T. Tamlong at a later date to discuss their grievances.

Even as senior CPRM leaders persuaded the DRYF rank-and-file to change is plans at Clubside, the participants cheered and maintained that “Ghisingh was afraid to meet them”. The mood was upbeat with many claiming that this was the first “victory” for the Opposition here.

Sawan Rai, CPRM leader, and PDF convenor said: “Taking into consideration that this is election time, we have decided not to force our way into Lalkhoti. However, things will be different in a while.”

The participants, were critical of Ghisingh’s refusal to meet them and mentioned that it was their “democratic right to meet the leader they had elected”.

DRYF president Shekhar Chhetri said: “We have learnt that Ghisingh had brought a large number of ‘boys’ to Lal Khoti today. When we are not afraid of him, there is no question of being afraid of these boys whom he is depending on.”