Kolkata, June 11 (IANS) Amid reports of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) planning to revive violent agitation in protest against a high-powered panel’s report, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said she was likely to meet its delegation here June 14 to find a solution.
“We want peace and development in both hills and plains. Probably on June 14 the GJM delegation will be coming here for discussion and the civil society of Darjeeling will be coming on June 15 for discussion,” Banerjee told media persons.
Upset over a high-power committee’s report on additional areas to be included in the proposed Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in northern West Bengal, the GJM has called a 72-hour shutdown from July 2.
The committee was set up July 29 last year after GJM demanded 398 additional mouzas (area less than a sub-division) spread over Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts to be included in the GTA — a new hill council that would run the administration in Darjeeling area.
The committee, which considered parameters such as homogeneity (whether over 50 percent of the mouza’s population was Gorkha), geographical contiguity, compactness and ground reality, said only five mouzas – two in Jalpaiguri district and three in Darjeeling district – fulfilled all the criteria for being part of the GTA.
