Buddha seeks consensus against Gorkha state demand

HILL PLAN: West Bengal Chief Minister has rejected demand for Gorkhaland.

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Keywords: Left Front, Darjeeling Hills

Kolkata: The violent protests that brought life in Darjeeling to a standstill have wound down but the political battle over the demand for a separate Gorkha state continues.

West Bengal’s ruling Left Front met in Kolkata on Saturday and backed the CPM-led government’s decision to not invite Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) for the all-party meeting on June 17.

"There are several groups in the hills. If Bimal Gurung (GJM leader) is invited, many others will also have to be called. That's why GJM has been left out and only political parties invited," said CPI Leader Manjukumar Majumder.

The hastily convened Left meeting had one aim: to preempt a Nandigram-like situation, where differences in opinion within the Front had surfaced. The target now is to reach a consensus at the all-party meeting.

"If they (the all-party meeting) come to a general consensus on the issues then that will be a successful attempt of the Chief Minister," said Left Front Chairperson Biman Bose.

Opposition party Trinamool Congress has declining to attend, unless the GJM is invited. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is a Congress leader from the state, though has assured the Centre’s support for the state government.

"We are not in favour of any separate state. We do not want any dismemberment of the state," said Mukherjee

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has a clear strategy in his mind: build a consensus across party lines against the demand for Gorkhaland and then pressure the Gorkhas to make a compromise.