M A I N   N E W S

Gorkha Stir
All-party meet calls for tripartite talks
Tribune News Service

Kolkata, June 17
The all-party meeting held here today in the presence of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and union information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi unanimously resolved that the Centre would be requested to hold tripartite meeting for ending the crisis in Darjeeling hills over the Gorkhaland issue.

At the same time, fresh attempts would be made for bringing the agitating Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) to the negotiating table for holding bi-lateral talks with the Chief Minister.

However, in the resolution adopted today there was no the reference to the Chief Minister’s stand on the separate Gorkhaland demand.

After the meeting, both the CM and Dasmunsi requested the GJM to immediately call off their agitation and restore peace and normalcy both in the hills and the plains at Siliguri, Duars and the Terrai. They regretted that in the wake of the road blockades, the supply of foodgrains and other essentials to the neighbouring Sikkim and also to the Nathula border across China, where the Army personnel had been guarding the border, were adversely affected.

Representatives of the 13 political parties of the total 16 invited attended the meeting. The main opposition parties, the Trinamool Congress and the SUCI, boycotted the meeting since the aggrieved GJM was not invited.

Meanwhile, the GJM held a separate all-party meeting at Darjeeling’s Jimkhana Club prior to the Chief Minister’s meeting where they adopted a resolution unanimously in support of the demand for a separate Gorkhaland and accordingly, the Centre was requested to immediately hold a tripartite meeting.

The copies of resolution had been sent to the Prime Minister, the home minister, Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi, BJP leader L.K. Advani and Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and the CM, GJM spokesperson Rohan Giri said.

The CM told mediapersons after the meeting that he would be sending another invitation to Gurung for talks. He also requested Mamata Banerjee and the SUCI leaders to come forward and help the state government for solving the Darjeeling problem.

Reacting to the decision of the meeting, Gurung said he was happy that they too had approached the Centre for holding the tri-partite meeting. He said he would consider if there was any new invitation for talks from the CM.