LF entrusts Buddha to open dialogue with GJM
Posted by barunroy on June 15, 2008
Kolkata, Jun 14 (PTI) West Bengal’s ruling Left Front today entrusted Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee with the task of opening a dialogue with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha so that a solution to the Darjeeling imbroglio could be found.
“The GJM’s rejection to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s invitation to attend the meeting on June 18 here does not mean the process of discussion is over,” Left Front chairman Biman Bose told reporters after a meeting of the Left Front committee.
The Left Front has asked the chief minister to continue his initiative to hold talks with GJM president Bimal Gurung, Bose said.
He ruled out any invitation to the GJM at the all-party meeting on June 17 in Kolkata on the ground that the meeting could be attended only by representatives of political parties.
He said that the GJM was spearheading the movement but it was not a registered political party and hence did not qualify to be invited to the all-party meeting.
He said that in 1985, when the Gorkhaland movement first surfaced under the leadership of Subash Ghising, an all-party meeting had been convened by the then chief minister Jyoti Basu.
“But I have not seen Ghising or any of his representatives being invited to the meeting”.
Bose further said that during the impasse in 1985-86, it was solved through a method which probably can be adopted by the present chief minister also.
Bose said that Gurung had earlier met the chief minister twice “and we are hopeful that in future he would sit for discussions.” The chief minister briefly apprised the meeting of the latest situation in Darjeeling.
Bose, who is also the state secretary of CPI(M), said Left Front partners also communicated their views. There was no misgiving among them over the Darjeeling issue and the Front was united.
He said that if a consensus was arrived at the all-party meeting, it would be deemed a successful initiative of the chief minister.
Told that Trinamool Congress had said it would not participate unless the GJM was called, Bose said “I would not like to comment. I also do not know of any medicine which can be used to get them to the all-party meeting.” Asked whether the meeting would pass a resolution opposing the demand for Gorkhaland, he said “It depends on the outcome of the meeting. Wait till June 17.” He said that the Left Front appealed to all the political parties to make the meeting a success.
He added the Front meeting passed a unanimous resolution appealing to the people living in the hill areas and the plains to jointly work to maintain peace, order, integrity and amity. PTI PKC PC KC 06141554 DEL
