New Delhi: The Centre's proposal for tripartite talks on
Darjeeling has stalled because of the Bengal government's opposition to
the participation of the Bimal Gurung lobby of the Gorkha Janmukti
Morcha in the meeting, sources said on Friday.
"The Centre is now
playing a wait-and-watch game as inviting other stakeholders for talks
without getting a go-ahead from the state government will lead to a
controversy and allegations that the Centre is intervening in the
state's affairs," said a senior home ministry official.
"We have
sent reminders to the Bengal government but are yet to get any reply. We
cannot invite other stakeholders to the talks without the consent of
the state. The delay has stalled the proposed composite dialogue process
that was to be initiated at the earliest," the ministry official said.
Sources
said Union home minister Rajnath Singh wanted to speak to Mamata
personally to convince her to let Gurung participate in the talks. But
the Union home minister apparently changed his mind following the war of
words between the state and central governments over the withdrawal of
forces from the hills.
"The Centre is treading cautiously. It is left with no option but to take the Bengal government on board."
The Telegraph
Post a Comment
We love to hear from you! What's on your mind?