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GJMM activists hail Centre for its initiative for tripartite talks | Activists of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJMM), spearheading the crusade for creation of separate state of Gorkhaland out of West Bengal, have hailed the Central government's initiative to hold tripartite talks with their leaders to resolve the issue. This was the reaction of GJMM functionaries
in the Darjeeling hills region on Wednesday (March 03) in response to the federal
Home (interior) Minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram's assurance of a 4-member political
committee to resolve the issue pertaining to Kashmir valley, on Tuesday (March
2). Four rounds of discussions have been held so far but bureaucrats represented
both the Central as well as state government. The GJMM activists had insisted
on political talks at the last round of discussions. "We sought political talks
in the fifth tripartite round of discussions. We have received a fax from Mr.
P Chidambaram that talks will be held on March 18. So we are very happy. We want
that only Gorkhaland is discussed in the fifth round of talks. We hope that the
Union Government and State Government are positive about Gorkhaland and we will
reach to a permanent solution," said Hemant Gautam, a leader of GJMM for the Terai
region of Darjeeling hills. The committee will hold the first round of political
talks with the GJMM activists in New Delhi on March 18. The West Bengal government
has also been asked to nominate two ministers for the talks. Gorkhas, who are
ethnic Nepalese, have been demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland to help them
protect their culture and heritage. "It is seen each caste lives in its own place.
So we want Gorkhaland because we want to liberation from Bengal. Our only issue
is Gorkhaland," said Ganesh Bahadur Chettri, a supporter of Gorkha Janamukti Morcha
of the Darjeeling hills. The demand for Gorkhaland gained momentum after New Delhi
announced that it would carve out a new state of Telangana from the Andhra Pradesh
state. At least 1,200 people had died in the first Gorkhaland campaign in the
1980s, but protests ended a few years later after Gorkha leaders accepted limited
autonomy. The Gorkha population in West Bengal is around one million out of over
80 million. |
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