No headway in hill state talks

The much-awaited meeting between the West Bengal government and representatives of political parties from the Darjeeling hills on Tuesday ended without any headway.

Emerging from the meeting, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the talks were held in a cordial atmosphere.

“At least we met each other after 78 days have passed since the shutdown in the hills. We were eager to end the deadlock and the government had repeatedly urged the political parties to lift the shutdown and blockade, and to restore peace and normalcy. The discussions have at least started and it is a very positive move. We have decided to meet again on September 12 in Uttarkanya, the state secretariat in north Bengal, and carry forward our dialogue process,” Mamata said.

She said the representatives of hill parties have duly placed their demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland, but the state government could not give any assurance on that as the issue was outside their purview.

“In a democracy, everybody has a right to put forward his or her demand and opinion. It is true that this Gorkhaland demand has been there in the Darjeeling hills for a very long period, but they should also understand that the state government has some constitutional obligations. As they can’t bulldoze their demands on us, we have also said we are sensitive to their issues and it can only be taken up through positive dialogue. They should understand that tea gardens are closed, schools are shut, transport and tourism sectors have been badly hit due to this prolonged shutdown,” she said.