At the second round of talks on the vexed Darjeeling issue, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday managed to purchase more time to solve the ongoing crisis while expelled Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Benay Tamang tended to grow taller in stature at the cost of party chief Bimal Gurung, who was currently at large following a plethora of cases under the UAPA slapped against him.
After the meeting, the CM said most of the demands, save the one for a separate Gorkhaland State, had been accepted by the Government. Tamang said he would appeal to the people to lift the bandh to facilitate the peace talks further. The next round of talks was scheduled for October 16 when “scopes for a tripartite dialogue involving Hill parties, the State and the Centre could be discussed.”
Meanwhile, Gurung got a big jolt when two of his party MlAs joined the talks dropping from their agenda a demand for a separate State.
They subsequently said the talks were fruitful and they would also go to the people asking them to withdraw bandh.
This even as Gurung who still enjoyed the allegiance of larger number of GJM supporters notwithstanding his gradually weakening grip on the Hill politics ruled against withdrawing the general strike that entered its 86th day on Tuesday.
“We have told the Government not to deduct the salary of the staff who could not join work during the strike days, regularize Class X and XII students’, withdraw cases slapped against leaders during the agitation, hold high-level inquiry into t he series of blasts in Darjeeling and give relief in terms of filing tax returns for the local traders,” Tamang said adding the Government had agreed to most of the 19 point demands.