GJM withdraws Darjeeling shutdown

Kolkata, Sep 26 : The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Tuesday announced the withdrawal of its indefinite shutdown in the northern West Bengal hills, and that the situation would return to normalcy from 6 a.m. on Wednesday.

The announcement came hours after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to them to call off the over three month-long strike and invited them for talks to find an amicable solution to the issue.

GJM Assistant General Secretary Jyoti Rai said: "After Rajnath Singh's appeal, we had a discussion with senior leaders, including GJM chief Bimal Gurung, and decided to withdraw the shutdown from 6 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday)."

The GJM had called the shutdown demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland.