‘No statehood but talks on to solve Gorkhaland problem’

DARJEELING (WEST BENGAL), Dec 21: There was no consensus on the issue of a Gorkhaland state but discussions to find a solution to the problem would continue, union Home Secretary GK Pillai said here on Monday after meeting representatives of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and the State Government.

“We had detailed discussions with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha and State Government representatives regarding the formation of a separate Gorkhaland state and various other issues. We’ll continue to hold discussions on this to find a solution to the Gorkhaland problem,” Pillai said at a press conference after the three-hour tripartite meeting. He said GJM representatives had indicated they wanted the discussion to be held at the political level. “Both the Centre and the State Government representatives will place their requests to the respective governments and will come back to the GJM within 45 days. There is no such agreement at all for a separate Gorkhaland state,” Pillai said.

The Central Government in 2005 conferred Sixth Schedule status on the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF)-led Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), ensuring greater autonomy to the governing body. The meeting, which began at 11 a.m., was attended by a Central Government team led by Pillai and a six-member State Government team headed by Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty. The GJM, led by the party’s general secretary Roshan Giri, was represented by 16 members at the talks being held at the private Mayfair resort in the heart of this hill town. Lieutenant General Vijay Madan, the Central Government-appointed interlocutor, was also present during the meeting. Security across Darjeeling district was stepped up for the meeting, police sources said. The GJM has been spearheading a movement for a Gorkhaland state carved out of northern West Bengal, besides opposing special status for the hill’s governing body DGHC. The Amra Bangali, Bangla Bhasha O Bhasha Banchao Committee, a local outfit protesting the GJM’s demand for a separate state, also started a relay hunger strike in Siliguri plains from Sunday saying that they oppose the “unconstitutional” dialogue with some “aliens” from Nepal. (IANS)