Shedding its rigid stand, the Mamata Banerjee government should initiate a dialogue with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for the early resolution of the crisis in the Hills, the Left Front chairman Biman Bose said on Monday. “It is the responsibility of the state government to take the initiative for holding talks with the GJM,” he added. Mr Bose was speaking after a Left Front meeting at Alimuddin Street.
He criticised the “obstinate” attitude of the state government for refusing to engage the GJM for talks.
“The path the state government has chosen is not conducive for peace in the Hills. After all, it is its duty to take an initiative for talks. It may even have to hold talks not once but twice or even more but such an exercise is necessary for peace,” he added.
Mr Bose further said that the Centre must also join the talks because the GTA was the culmination of a tripartite agreement. If the Opposition Left Front advocated negotiations in the hills, governor M.K. Narayanan expressed hope that good sense would prevail. “I know it is a difficult situation (in the Hills). Let’s hope good sense prevails and the matter is resolved,” he added. Mr Narayanan had earlier said that he was ready to talk to the GJM chief Bimal Gurung if it would help in resolving the stalemate.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Surjya Kanta Mishra on Monday said in Delhi that the chief minister was playing with fire in the manner in which she was trying to handle the Gorkhaland issue. Reiterating his charge, he said that the GTA agreement itself was flawed because Gorkhaland was mentioned in it.