Centre calls GJM for tripartite meeting on Oct 23

EOIC, Darjeeling, 30 Sep 2013: After the state government forced it on the back foot ever since the start of its fresh statehood movement, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is at last seeing a ray of hope with the Centre today reportedly announcing a tripartite dialogue on October 23.

The communication over phone from the home affairs ministry comes after almost a month of its assurance to the Morcha of convening a three-way debate.

“We received a call from joint secretary Suresh Kumar, who announced of a tripartite meeting on October 23. He said the home secretary asked him to convey the information,” said GJM general secretary Roshan Giri today in Darjeeling on the sidelines of a Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee meeting.

However, Giri refused to elaborate on the call from Delhi and said, “We will take a decision on the agenda for the tripartite talk once we receive an official letter from the central government.”

The joint secretary’s message could not be discussed with the GJAC constituents as he had called the GJM leadership after the meeting.

Meanwhile, the GJAC meeting saw members taking stock of the current situation in the hills in terms of the statehood movement post October 20, while discussions were also held on GJM chief Bimal Gurung’s decision to resign as president of the joint forum.

“It will be premature to take a decision on the future course of action regarding the statehood movement given the current scenario. We will wait for the GJM to receive an official letter from the Centre, study it and then take a decision accordingly,” informed GJAC spokesperson Enos Das Pradhan.

The joint forum plans to hold another meeting shortly. “During the meeting today we requested the GJM chief to reconsider his decision to resign from the post of GJAC president. The Morcha is the largest party here and has been spearheading the separate statehood movement and also because it is mandatory for all principals of our member constituents to be part of the GJAC,” Pradhan pointed out.

Gurung, according to the GJAC spokesperson, has cited inconvenience in holding dual charge simultaneously, one of his party and the other of the joint forum.

The GJM president refused to speak to the media, but his Facebook post said he is satisfied with the central government’s decision on the tripartite talk.

“I am happy to have received a call from the Centre for the tripartite talk on October 23 to discuss the long pending demand of the Gorkhas. The GJM believes the statehood demand can be solved through dialogue.  We are also appealing to the Centre to withdraw central forces immediately,” read Gurung’s message.

Earlier in the day, the Gorkha Janmukti Vidhyarthi Morcha organised a rally in town condemning Saturday’s molestation incident and submitted a memorandum to the Darjeeling district magistrate seeking a send-off of security forces as the GJVM maintained they are making the hills unsafe, especially for womenfolk.