Gorkhas reject Buddhadeb's offer for talks

SILIGURI: The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha on Friday rejected the West Bengal government's offer for talks on the Darjeeling issue on June 18, saying the agenda of development of the hills was "irrelevant" when the main issue was a separate state of Gorkhaland.
"The GJM central committee rejected the offer to sit for dialogue with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee because the agenda of the meeting was development of the Darjeeling hills," GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said. "The central committee felt the demand for Gorkhaland was a political one and the offer to discuss development of the Darjeeling hills was irrelevant," Giri said. According to him, if the state government was "at all interested in settling the issue, it should take the initiative for tripartite talks with the Centre and GJM representatives with the agenda for talks being solely Gorkhaland".
Giri also said the GJM will further relax its indefinite bandh till 6 am on Monday after an appeal for peace by Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi.
Giri said the central committee also reviewed and discussed the incidents in the past two days at Siliguri and Dooars region which were "guided by the CPM and attempts made to give them a communal turn".
If the state government wish to restore peace, then the police should arrest the perpetrators of the violence during the period of further relaxation of the indefinite bandh, Giri said.