NEW DELHI: GJM talks inconclusive; Centre, Bengal reject demand for including more areas


FROM TIMES OF INDIA

NEW DELHI: Tripartite talks among the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), West Bengal government and the Centre appear to have hit a roadblock. The administrative-level consultations among the three parties on Tuesday resulted in a stalemate over the territorial jurisdiction of the recently-proposed interim set-up for Darjeeling.

GJM’s insistence on the inclusion of the Gorkha-dominated parts of the Terai and Dooars in the proposed set-up saw the discussion end inconclusively as both the Centre and the state are learnt to have outrightly rejected the demand due to security concerns.

Sources in the home ministry said that both the Centre and the state government were for limiting the proposed set-up — Darjeeling Regional Authority — to the hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong.

An official said: “The unique geographical location of the region — a thin strip of land called Chicken’s Neck which separates China and Bangladesh and also connects India’s mainland with the North-East — is the main reason why the government does not want to look beyond the three sub-divisions.”

The Centre and state’s view was, however, not acceptable to GJM. Its leader Roshan Giri, who led the five-member delegation for the discussions here on Tuesday, told TOI that the Morcha was in no mood to discuss the issues concerning the interim set-up unless the government accepted its demand over the territorial issue.

He said: “The government insisted on discussion over devolution of power instead of considering our demand of additional territory. We cannot discuss devolution of power without clubbing all the Gorkha-inhabited areas into the proposed set-up.”

Tuesday’s discussion, attended by senior officials of the Union home ministry and the West Bengal government, was meant to prepare the groundwork for the next round of political-level talks later this month.

Asked whether the Morcha’s current stand would derail the political-level talks which might be held in the month-end, Giri said: “Let us first discuss it with GJM chief Bimal Gurung and other leaders. We may go ahead with the political-level talks, but we want the government to clear the air over the territorial issue.”

Gurung, who has been demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland since 2007, had floated a new proposal for an interim set-up in the hills till December 31, 2011.

Though the proposal was accepted by the government, further discussion faced hurdles with GJM insisting on the inclusion of additional Gorkha-inhabited areas in the interim set-up.