Malbazar (WB): In a fresh effort to resolve
the Darjeeling crisis through dialogue, West Bengal Chief
Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Saturday asked the Gorkha
Janmukti Morcha to call off their agitation in the hills.
Rejecting the demand for a separate `Gorkhaland`, the
chief minister said the problem had to be resolved through
talks.
"Let the Morcha call off the agitation and stop creating
trouble in the hills," he said at a public function in
Jalpaiguri district.
The GJM had launched an indefinite bandh in Darjeeling
Hills on February 9 to protest the police firing at Sipchu in
Jalpaiguri but lifted it for four days from today.
"They (Gorkha Janmukti Morcha) are trying to foment
trouble in Dooars. The state government will never allow it. I
advise Adivasi Vikas Parishad to maintain calm. How long will
the Morcha create trouble?", Bhattacharjee asked.
The Adivasi Vikash Parishad, which was against inclusion
of Dooars and Terai in the proposed new state, submitted a
memorandum to the chief minister demanding that Dooars and
Terai be included in the 6th Schedule of the Constitution,
which provides for administration of tribal areas in Assam,
Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
Bhattacharjee said he will invite the Parishad leaders
for talks after returning to Kolkata.
The chief minister wondered what they meant by the term
"separate state" saying, "Bengalis, Nepalis, Biharis and
Adivasis will have to live together. Otherwise it will cause
harm to all. The state government will never allow any one of
them to create trouble."
Concerned over the situation in Darjeeling Hills arising
out of the GJM bandh, he said, "They are calling frequent
bandhs. People cannot work. After two days, they will not get
food and will have to starve."
PTI
