Adhir Chowdhury, minister of state for railways today said the Centre and the Congress wanted immediate tripartite talks with the state and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to resolve the crisis in Darjeeling. We firmly believe that talks should be held to resolve the Darjeeling issue. Morcha leaders have met our leaders and ministers and have been told to withdraw the strike and restore normalcy to pave the way for talks.” As the Centre is a party to the tripartite agreement, it surely has a role to play. However, as Darjeeling is located within a state and is not a centrally-governed territory, it is the state government which will have to decide on the tripartite talks. The Centre never wants to impose anything on the state but definitely wants dialogue to be held.” The Congress MP criticised chief minister Mamata Banerjee for the way she handled the hill crisis.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 00:43:50 +0000