The Telegraph

Calcutta, Jan. 21: Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today told a delegation of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha that they would have to place their demand for separate state at the tripartite meetings in Delhi.

“If the Morcha continued to agitate, it would only vitiate the atmosphere of tripartite discussion. The chief minister told the delegation that whether or not the Gorkhaland movement was legitimate should be taken up at the Delhi level,” chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti said after the meeting at Writers’ Buildings.

The seven-member Morcha delegation, led by general secretary Roshan Giri, arrived for the talks at 6pm. The meeting continued for one hour and forty-five minutes. Those accompanying Giri were Asha Gurung, Amar Lama, Harka Bahadur Chhetri, Narden Lama, Pramita Gautam and Urmila Rumba.

Bhattacharjee asked the Morcha delegation not to hold any meeting or rallies in the Dooars, or Siliguri. “In the backdrop of the present situation in the Dooars, Malbazar and Siliguri, the chief minister asked Morcha leaders not to hold meetings and rallies there. They have assured him of restraint for now,” said Chakrabarti.

Bhattacharjee also urged the Morcha leaders to help restore normality in the hills and told them that the government would pay for the treatment of Morcha supporters injured in the recent incidents of violence.

“He (Bhattacharjee) told the delegation that no criminal activity like arson, injury to people and riots of communal nature would be tolerated,” the chief secretary said.

The government was also considering compensating people whose houses were fully or partly damaged in the clashes. The chief secretary, however, did not commit about any possible compensation package.

Home secretary Ardhendu Sen has been told to look into the “false” cases against Morcha supporters.

Earlier, emerging from the meeting, Giri, however, said they were sticking to their demand for Gorkhaland that would include Siliguri and the Terai and Dooars.

“We have made it very clear that Gorkhaland will comprise Siliguri and the Terai and Dooars and we will not budge an inch from our demand,” said Giri.

When reminded that the majority of population in Siliguri was Bengali speaking, Giri replied: “We have told the chief minister that there are a large number of Bangladeshi refugees and immigrants in Siliguri. First they should be tracked down and deported.”

The chief secretary said Bhattacharjee had asked the home secretary to look into the Morcha allegation.