Mamata offers Hills parties talks to end Darjeeling stir

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that the state government will hold talks with “all major political parties” — including stakeholders spear-heaving the Darjeeling stir — on August 29 to restore peace and normalcy in the agitation-hit hills of the state.

On Monday, the Hill parties had expressed their willingness for a dialogue with the Bengal government over the Darjeeling crisis.

Banerjee said the president of the central committee of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) has written to the Bengal government, asking for a “highlevel intervention to end the present crisis in the Hill areas of Darjeeling” and has requested for talks to restore peace and normalcy.

The agitating Gorkha parties, which shut down the tourist resort of Darjeeling and its adjoining areas for more than two months now over the demand of a separate state of Gorkhaland, had earlier met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi asking for his intervention. Rajnath had spoken to Mamata Banerjee on the issue and the latest development may be the result of that conversation.

The Trinamool Congress supremo said the state government has “decided to respond positively to the request”. On August 29, not only GNLF, but “all major political parties will be called,” she said, adding, “Representatives of the development boards will also be called to share their views.

However, it is not yet clear whether the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) will participate in the discussions. GJM chief Bimal Gurung has not yet made any statement on the issue.

The sticking point is that Gurung has been booked under the stringent UAPA for the violence that rocked Darjeeling and Kalimpong a few days back. Many of his supporters have also been held.

The GJM is of the opinion that the Bengal government is using repressive measures against its cadres.