The Mamata Banerjee government’s latest initiative to screen Bengali films during prime time in theatres has sparked protests in the Darjeeling hills, which shut down for 104 days in 2017 over the language issue.

However, Anit Thapa, the chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, claimed on Thursday that the chief minister had assured him that the provision of the compulsory screening of Bengali films would not be extended to the hills.

Leaders from Darjeeling, cutting across political lines, have reached out to the state government to make the screening of Nepali movies compulsory at hill theatres.

A notification issued by the state government on Wednesday stated: "In every Cinema hall, and all screens (each screen) of every multiplex situated in this State, 365 (Three hundred and Sixty Five) prime time shows/screenings of Bengali films shall mandatorily be held throughout the year with at least one Bengali show per day for all 365 days during the year.”

Prime time has been defined as the hours between 3pm and 9pm.

On Thursday, Thapa, who is also the president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), which is an ally of the Trinamool Congress, wrote a letter to the chief minister seeking a different provision for the GTA area.

Thapa welcomed the government’s initiative to “promote regional cinema” through mandatory screening in cinema halls.

“In the same spirit, I earnestly appeal to your esteemed office to extend a similar provision to the GTA region, where Nepali is the lingua franca and Nepali-language films are a vital part of our identity,” stated Thapa. “I propose that cinema halls in our region be mandated to screen Nepali films to ensure that our indigenous film culture receives fair representation.

Thapa told The Telegraph that he also had a talk with Mamata Banerjee and had been assured that the provisions would not be implemented in the GTA region.

Ajoy Edwards, the president of the Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front and an elected GTA Sabha member, noted that the 2017 statehood agitation had started after some ministers had said plans were afoot to make Bengali a compulsory third language at schools in the state.

“We have not forgotten 2017, when they tried to make Bengali compulsory in our schools. That attempt sparked the 104-day agitation and the hills spoke with one voice, NO to cultural imposition,” Edwards wrote in his verified Facebook account.

The hill leader added: “We respect Bengali language and culture just as we expect ours to be respected……..We are not against Bengali film or the Bengali people. We are against any form of cultural imposition that disregards the language and identity of a region.”