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Bengal Govt to hold talks on Hills crisis on August 29: Mamata Banerjee
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today held a press conference at the State secretariat, Nabanna, to announce that the president of the central committee of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) has written to the Bengal Government, asking for a “high-level intervention to end the present crisis in the Hill areas of Darjeeling” and has “humbly requested for talks to restore peace and normalcy in the Hills”.
The Chief Minister said that the Government, ever eager to bring normalcy to the Darjeeling and the entire Hills region, has “decided to respond positively to the request”, setting August 29 as the date for a meeting at which not only GNLF but “all major political parties will be called”. The meeting will be held at Nabanna from 4 pm. That the Government is attaching importance to the fact that GNLF has extended the hand of friendship to the Government was also borne out when she said, “GNLF is a very old party”.
She said, “Representatives of the development boards will also be called to the meeting”. Mamata Banerjee also extended an open invitation to all “political parties that think on similar lines as the GNLF”, saying they are “welcome to join” as well.
“We are in favour of peace, normalcy and development. We are ready to talk to anyone who is in favour of peace and normalcy. I had myself chaired a meeting with all the chairpersons of the development boards”, said the Chief Minister in the course of the press conference.
Underlining once again the policy of the State Government, the Chief Minister said, “We want development of the Hills. I appeal to my brothers and sisters in the Hills to cooperate with us to restore peace and normalcy there. Working together is essential for the development of the Hills and of the State as a whole”.
