Kolkata: The West Bengal government has slammed Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling for backing the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.
Sources said Education Minister Partha Chatterjee on Friday wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh asking him to prevent neighbouring states from meddling in Bengal’s affairs.
Chatterjee wrote the letter on behalf of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is in The Hague, Netherlands, to attend a United Nations programme.
“We mentioned that the CM of Sikkim has violated the constitutional rights by backing the Gorkhaland issue. We see his comment as an attempt to vitiate the atmosphere. This is purely a state subject and his letter to Rajnath Singh was undesirable,” a source said.
On June 20, Chamling, had written a letter to Rajnath backing the demand for Gorkhaland.
"The fulfillment of the constitutional demand of the people in the Darjeeling Hills which is deeply connected with national identity of the Indian Gorkhas will provide long awaited justice to their patriotism, which has been second to none," the letter stated.
Calling the protesters who were killed in firing as martyrs, the letter had said, "Unfortunately, on June 17, three young people have been martyred and several others injured in the firing. The past three decades of agitation for the statehood demand in the neighbouring hills has claimed over a 1000 lives and caused incalculable loss of property and constant threat to security of life."
Meanwhile, hours after Bengal government’s letter to Rajnath Singh, the Sikkim government banned government and private busses from West Bengal till further order.
Since Saturday morning a large number of tourists had a harrowing time at Siliguri’s Sikkim National Transport Stand because no means of transport were available.
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