Huge procession turns out at Tamang’s funeral

May 24, 2010 02:26 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 08:56 pm IST - Siliguri

A man covers the face of All India Gorkha League Chief Madan Tamang who was stabbed and killed. File Photo: AP

A man covers the face of All India Gorkha League Chief Madan Tamang who was stabbed and killed. File Photo: AP

Thousands of people in Darjeeling on Monday poured onto the streets braving rain to join the silent funeral procession of slain All India Gorkha League (AIGL) president Madan Tamang, sending out a clear signal of rejection to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

The procession was taken out from Rhododendron-del, the residence of Tamang, at around 10 am.

The body was first taken to the AIGL party office at Laden-la road in Darjeeling and then, proceeded via Manebhanjan to Tamang’s native village, Meghma, 30 km away from Darjeeling town, where the cremation would take place.

People from all walks of life, including teachers and school students, joined leaders and workers of the Democratic Front, the anti-GJM eight party combine which includes CPRM, AIGL, Congress and BJP, to pay their last respect to the leader, who has been called as “the first martyr for democracy in Darjeeling hills.”

The silence was punctuated by slogans against Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung and General Secretary Roshan Giri.

Adequate police arrangement was made to help maintain peace and law and order.

Inspector General of Police (North Bengal), K.L. Tamta, who is now camping in Darjeeling, told PTI that the people had spontaneously kept their shops and business establishments closed for the third day today as a mark of grief for the departed leader.

The GJM had also called a four-hour bandh to pay respect to Tamang today.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.