Gorkha Jan Mukti team meets Rajnath Singh, demands tripartite meet on Gorkhaland

New Delhi: A delegation of the Gorkha Jan Mukti (GJM) met home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday and called for tripartite talks to resolve the festering Gorkhaland issue.

[caption id=“attachment_4036933” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Rajnath Singh. PTI[/caption] The team, led by Union minister SS Ahluwalia, who represents Darjeeling in the Lok Sabha, later described the meeting with Singh as fruitful. “It was a very fruitful meeting with the Home minister. We have demanded tripartite talks, and are expecting a positive development within a few days,” GJM central committee member Swaraj Thapa said. The tripartite meet should involve the Centre, the West Bengal government and the GJM, he said. The five-member delegation also expressed concern over the stalemate in Darjeeling and sought central intervention in ending the crisis. It alleged that the West Bengal government had “unleashed police atrocities in the name of law and order and was trying to suppress the democratic agitation” in Darjeeling. The region has been in a state of turmoil for the last three months, with the GJM spearheading an indefinite strike to press their demand for a separate Gorkhaland state.