State govt averse to Gurung, not talks

TT, Sept. 26: The Bengal government is likely to accept the Centre's appeal for a tripartite meeting on the hills but won't allow Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung to be a part of it, officials have said.

Sources said a decision on tripartite talks would most likely be taken at the meeting between the state government and representatives of the hill parties on October 16.

"The GTA has a provision for tripartite talks among those who are running the GTA, the state government and the Centre. Right now, Binay Tamang and Anit Thapa are running the GTA, so they can attend the tripartite meeting, not Gurung," said a senior official in Nabanna, the state secretariat.

The sources said the state government would not allow the Centre to decide on who would be part of the tripartite talks if they were held.

"Since the trouble broke out in June, the state government hasn't allowed the Centre to dictate on the issue. If the state agrees to a tripartite at the meeting on October 16, the third party has to be the section in the Morcha that is running the GTA these days," the Nabanna official said.

According to political analysts, despite Gurung calling off the strike from 6am tomorrow, the state government is not ready to soften its stand on either the Morcha chief or any of its associates,

"He is wanted in connection with several cases. So we won't allow him to be a part of any meeting. A decision on the tripartite talks will be taken at the meeting between the hill parties and the state government on October 16 at Nabanna," the official added.