Union Home Minister Amit Shah has pledged that the BJP will prioritise resolving the Gorkha issue in Darjeeling and withdraw cases against community leaders if elected in West Bengal. He criticised Mamata Banerjee's government for non-cooperation and assured a constitutional solution.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed poll rallies in West Bengal, promising to resolve the Gorkha issue constitutionally and offering a development package for north Bengal if the BJP is voted to power.
Among the national parties, the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist opposed the proposal, while the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National People's Party supported it.
'A master politician who excelled in the politics of intrigue, Subash Ghisingh kept winning election after election, sending a clear message to the state and central governments that he remained the undisputed king of the Darjeeling hills.'
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha activists demanding release of some of their supporters went on the rampage on Friday, setting ablaze the house of a Gorkha National Liberation Front leader in Darjeeling district and hurling stones at the police when they intervened, leading to a baton charge on them.
Subhas Ghising has been called to New Delhi for tripartite talks.
GNLF leader Shanta Chetri, who retained her Kurseong seat for two consecutive terms in the assembly polls, told reporters on Friday that there was no reason to surrender the demand for Gorkhaland.
The Army was kept on stand-by as violence erupted in Darjeeling Hills after ruling GNLF leader K G Gurung was grievously injured in an alleged attack by rival GJMM activists on Friday.
The meeting was attended by the GJM, the GNLF, the Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Morcha, the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (apolitical) and the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists.
He died in New Delhi on Thursday at the age of 78.
'Winning this election will take us a step closer to realising our dreams'
A total of 246 militants of United Gorkha People's Organisation and Tiwa Liberation Army formally surrendered before Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Guwahati on Thursday.
Over ten Gorkha Janmukti supporters were arrested when they burnt a motorcycle and a car at Rambi on the National Highway near, as a three-day bandh demanding Gorkhaland began in the Darjeeling hills in West Bengal on Monday.
Our election slogan is simple "Ballot for Bullet".
Gurung is worth his weight in gold to the BJP which is trying hard to make inroads in West Bengal
'The Kuki-Zo are aware of this rich resource in their areas and feel the Meitei push for ST status is because of this reason'.
Police recovered more than 300 weapons, including arrows and explosives.
Gorkhaland supporters torched a police outpost, a toytrain station and clashed with the police at two places.
While a group led by Binay Tamang wants to end the shutdown, the mainstream GJM, led by its supremo Bimal Gurung, wants the status quo to continue, reports Avishek Rakshit.
The statehood issue and implementation of the sixth schedule of the Constitution have been the major demands in the hills since the beginning of the protracted Gorkhaland movement in 1986.
Sam Bahadur is a mechanical summary of his life, ticking off one chapter after another without bothering to pause or ponder over their significance and influences, observes Sukanya Verma.
For someone like me who studied Sam so intently, if a lump could form in the throat during the emotive scenes, I think the cast did a superb job, notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Hurling petrol bombs and stones, Gorkhaland supporters on Thursday fought pitched battles with police, who broke up protests, bursting teargas shells and baton-charging violent crowds, plunging Darjeeling hills into deeper turmoil.
'...they were shocked to learn that just 352 Indian soldiers had made 3 brigadiers, 2 colonels, 170 officers, 290 JCOs and 8,000 troops surrender to the Indian Army.'
Besides his strategic and tactical acumen, it was his amazing personality, quick wit and ability to remain unflustered under any circumstances that stood him apart from almost any leader one has read about or known, recalls Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Military affairs experts said his key challenge will be to build consensus among the three services for the theaterisation plan as the Indian Air Force has some apprehensions about its roll-out.
Xi Jinping's recent actions in South Asia have amply demonstrated the disastrous impact of China's embrace, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and China expert.
During Vajpayee's tenure, he was there as an indispensable insider, witness to every action that had an impact on history: Pokhran-II (nuclear tests in 1998), the 1999 Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan, the Indo-Pak Agra Summit in 2001, intense engagement with the United States on nuclear issues besides the Kandahar hijack.
A war hero looks back at the men and the moments that forged India's greatest military victory.
Very few today realise that without Brigadier John Dalvi's courage, we would never have known what really happened during those tragic days of October/November 1962, reveals Claude Arpi.
Claude Arpi salutes Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand Bakshi, India's most decorated general, who passed into the ages recently.
President Ram Nath Kovind presents the President's Colours to the Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre today, August 21. These are normally presented to units that distinguish themselves consistently over decades. The Ladakh Scouts became a regular army regiment only in June 2001 after its stunning performance in the Kargil conflict, notes Ajai Shukla.
'For a long time Pakistan dreamt that India would break up and that it would be the predominant power in the region,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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