Left parties meet to solve Darjeeling crisis

Siliguri, June 14 : The Left parties in West Bengal will meet today in an attempt to find a solution of the ongoing violence in the Darjeeling hills.

The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) on Friday rejected the West Bengal Government's offer for talks, saying that the main issue of a separate state was not in the agenda. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, in a letter to GJM chief Bimal Gurung, had invited him and his colleagues to discuss measures needed to restore normalcy and speed up development work in the Darjeeling hills.

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said that if the State Government was interested in settling the issue, it should take the initiative for tripartite talks with the Centre and GJM representatives with the agenda for talks being solely Gorkhaland.

Meanwhile, the situation in Siliguri is returning to normal. The police, administration and business organisations are taking steps to maintain law and order.

The West Bengal Government had dismissed the demand for a separate state in the hills and urged GJM leaders to sit for talks on other issues.

The GJM comprising about half a dozen parties, has been organizing protests over the past few months in the Darjeeling hills demanding a separate Gorkhaland State. The group had revived the demand for Sixth schedule status while the GJMM, a breakaway faction of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), opposes it demanding full-fledged statehood. The West Bengal Government has been resisting the demands for a separate State for the Gorkhas.

ANI