State Home Secretary urges GJM to shun violence, hold talks

State Home Secretary Malay De on Thursday once again made it clear that the state government is ready to hold talks with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) to restore normalcy in the Hills.

He urged the GJM to shun the violent movement that has already paralysed normal lives in the Hills. He also said that the state government will take all possible steps to combat the situation, De told media in Siliguri after conducting the all party meeting there. The Opposition parties like Congress, BJP and CPI(M) did not, however, attend the meeting as the Chief Minister was not present in the meeting. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and top officials of the development boards in the Hills attended the meeting.

"The common people in the Hills were mostly affected due to the indefinite strike called by the GJM in the Hills. There has been a huge loss of economy with a complete shut down of tourism and hotel businesses. Our government is committed to solve the issue through talks. It is the constitutional duty of the government to maintain public order," De said.

Terming the strike as "uncalled for and unconstitutional", De also said that two development boards and three political parties joined Thursday's meeting and the process would be continued. He also urged the GJM to lift their strike to bring back normalcy.

State Parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee who attended the meeting said that the entry of Trinamool Congress in the Hills has left the GJM leaders nervous. As a result of this, they opted for this violent movement after being alienated by the common people of the Hills.

"They protested against the introduction of Bengali language into the syllabus. The Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee categorically clarified that Bengali will only be an optional subject. Having found no issue, they picked up the Gorkhaland issue. They are putting the people in trouble," Chatterjee said.

"We are always ready to hold talks but the GJM should withdraw their bandh and come for talks. The discussions were held in a positive way. Some parties did not attend Thursday's meeting but they should come forward if they want the issue to be resolved. The government's aim is to restore peace in the Hills," Chatterjee maintained.