Mamata Banerjee and Gorkha Janamukti Morcha leadership meet ended inconclusive

KOLKATA : Thursday's meeting between West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) leadership ended inconclusively as the GJM chief Bimal Gurung did not commit anything about taking part in the July 29 elections to the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) Sabha.

The meeting continued for more than an hour, but GJM leadership did not spell out whether they will take part in the GTA elections.

"Our core committee will meet on Saturday to decide on this and we will let you know our decision after the core committee meeting on Saturday," GJM president Bimal Gurung told reporters at the state administrative headquarters in Writers' Buildings after his meeting with the chief minister.

Gurung, however, said that they will support Mamata Banerjee's decision regarding the presidential elections. "We have not yet decided over the presidential elections. But we will support the chief minister Mamata Banerjee's decision regarding the presidential polls.

Whatever she will decide, we will be with her," Gurung said. Even though Gurung did not spell out whether they will take part in the July 29 elections in the Darjeeling Hills, he is hopeful about winning all the 45 seats under the GTA Sabha.

Asked whether they were afraid of Trinamool Congress which was trying to spread their organisation in the Hills, Gurung said "anyone is free to strengthen their organisation. Let them fight the GTA elections and I am sure to win all the 45 seats under the GTA. I will quit politics once we fail to win all the 45 seats."

Gurung also said that he had faith on the fact-finding committee set up by the state government to find out errors and mistakes of the Shyamal Sen Commission recommendations. The GJM had demanded 398 mouzas in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts to be included in the proposed GTA Sabha.

The state government had appointed Shyamal Sen commission to consider the demand raised by the GJM about inclusion of 398 mouzas. But the Sen commission has recommended inclusion of only five mouzas to the psoposed GTA Sabha against GJM's demand for inclusion of 398 mouzas.

The GJM leadership had described Sen Commission's recommendations as "biased and one-sided" and urged Mamata Banerjee's government to ignore the recommendations. Following GJM's opposition to the Sen Commission's report, the state government has set up a fact-finding committee and Gurung on Thursday said he had faith on the fact-finding committee.

"We have been asked to lodge our allegations and complaints in writing before the fact-finding committee and we have also been told that the government will consider those once we place them before the committee in writing," Gurung said.

Asked whether he had a heated exchange of dialogues with the state government during Thursday's meeting, Gurung said "of course. We are fighting for past six years and the tripartite agreement was signed very recently.

Naturally, people of the Hills are not very satisfied and since we represent them, we have raised all these issues during our talks today and of course, there was heated ecchange of views during the meeting."