Gorkha stir: Centre says onus on Mamata for talks
The Centre on Sunday appealed for calm in Darjeeling but put the onus on the Mamata Banerjee government for possible tripartite talks with Gorkha protesters demanding a separate state.
The hill districts of West Bengal were relatively calm on Sunday, a day after violent clashes between police and supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) left four people dead.
One India Reserve Battalion officer was also stabbed in the clashes which also left 35 other security personnel injured.
“All concerned parties and stakeholders should resolve their differences and misunderstandings through dialogue in amicable environment,” Union home minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.
Sources said Singh spoke to Banerjee on Sunday morning, for the third time in as many days, to explore if she was open to examine the separate state demand. Banerjee has ruled out bifurcation of Bengal.
The current agitation started off as protests against an alleged move by the Trinamool government to impose Bengali in schools in the hills where most people speak Nepali.
The GJM, which administers the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, revived the 110-year-old demand for a separate state after a police raid on the office of its chief Bimal Gurung.
The GJM, an ally of the BJP, has refused to talk to the state government and insisted on tripartite negotiations on statehood.
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