Darjeeling, Feb. 29: The recently-formed Gorkha Rastriya Congress (GRC) today held its first public meeting at Chowkbazar to mobilise public opinion on the merger of Darjeeling hills with Sikkim.

GRC president D.K. Bomzom, said: “We believe that to protect the political rights of Gorkhas, Darjeeling should be merged with Sikkim.” He even mooted the idea of forming a state called Darjeeling and Sikkim on lines of Jammu and Kashmir.

GRC general secretary Amar Luksom, said: “We have faith in the Centre but the oppressive nature of the Bengal government has ensured that we have no political rights in the state. Politics in the hills is controlled by leaders of the plains.”

Nepal annexed Darjeeling hills, a part of Sikkim, after winning a battle against a Sikkimese ruler. Nepal ceded Darjeeling to the East India Company through the Treaty of Sagauli on December 2, 1815. Following an agreement between the Sikkimese government and the East India Company, the Darjeeling Hills were handed over to Sikkim through the Treaty of Titalya on February 10, 1817.