The all-party meeting convened by the West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to resolve the ongoing Darjeeling impasse failed to come up with a concrete solution.
Stalemate continues as GJM demand for tripartite talks not met; Sikkim cut off
KOLKATA: The all-party meeting convened by the West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday to resolve the ongoing Darjeeling impasse failed to come up with a concrete solution, except that the parties gave a unanimous call to Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) to lift the strike and settle the matter through discussions.
GJM, on its part, called a counter all-party meeting on Tuesday morning, which was attended by small local groups from the hills, following which the GJM leadership threatened to continue with the bandh and further emphasised on the tripartite talks involving the Union and the state government. The GJM president Bimal Gurung said that if necessary they will continue the strike for even six to seven months. He once again overruled the possibility of attending any bipartite talks with West Bengal government at this stage.
Bhattacharjee got both the Congress and BJP on his side and their representatives attending the meeting echoed the chief minister’s call. Union broadcasting minister and state Congress president Priyaranjan Dasmunsi echoed Bhattacharjee’s call.
Immediately after the meeting, Bhattacharjee told reporters that he will inform the Union government of the decision taken at the meeting. “We are ready to hold talks with the GJM leaders without any pre-conditions. We are in favour of continuing dialogue and do not want any confrontation on this issue,” Bhattacharjee said.
Appealing to GJM to end the strike in the hills, Bhattacharjee said that not only the hills of West Bengal but also Sikkim has been totally cut off. When asked whether the state government would accept the GJM offer for tripartite talks, he said that it is always better to have to have a prior bipartite exchange before the tripartite meeting.
The GJM general secretary Roshon Giri howeverrefused to comment on the outcome of the all-party meeting. “First let our party leadership discuss the matter internally and then we will give reactions,” Giri said.
r_sumanta@dnaindia.net
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