Darjeeling, June 17: The Opposition parties in the hills have extended support to the statehood demand raised by former activists, who had spearheaded the Gorkhaland movement in the Dooars region in the mid-80s.

The former participants of the statehood movement, who formed the Gorkha Kalyan Sangh at Bandapani tea estate in Jalpaiguri district on June 9, have claimed that only a separate state can fulfil the aspiration of the Gorkhas.

The Sangh, headed by Madhukar Thapa, has also formed committees at Birpara and Garochira busty. The Opposition today said they were closely following the developments in the Dooars region.

?I have already told my people to get in touch with them and if they are sincere about the demand, we will extend our support to them,? said Madan Tamang, the chairman of the People?s Democratic Front (PDF), an anti-Ghisingh coalition. Both the ABGL and the CPRM, members of the PDF, have decided to support the Sangha.

The Gorkhaland movement had spread in the Dooars area, which has a large Nepali-speaking population, in the mid-80s, but fizzled out when Ghisingh excluded the region and formed the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, comprising the three hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong.

The GNLF has, however, maintained a stoic silence on the issue. Deepak Gurung, the president of the GNLF Darjeeling Branch Committee, said: ?This is something that only Subash Ghisingh can say.? Though the activists from the Dooars had felt let down when Ghisingh failed to recognise their contribution and excluded the area from the DGHC, the GNLF h ad always maintained its links with it supporters there.

In fact, D.T. Tamlong, the chief executive officer of the DGHC, had written to chief secretary A. Gupta to withdraw all police cases (except murder) filed against Gorkhaland activists during the agitation. Though the decision to withdraw cases had been agreed upon in 1988 ? after the signing of the DGHC accord ? cases against 16 activists from the Dooars is still pending.