The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) may have revived its demand for a separate State but that does not seem to deter its president Bimal Gurung from sharing the dais with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at an event in Darjeeling on Tuesday.
“Led by our president, we are also planning to meet the Chief Minister separately,” GJM assistant general secretary Jyoti Kumar Rai told The Hindu over telephone from Darjeeling on Monday, even as his colleagues participated in a demonstration in New Delhi to press their demand for Gorkhaland.
“Our decision to respond to an invitation from the West Bengal government to the inauguration by Ms. Banerjee of the Uttar Banga Utsav should, in no way, be construed as softening in our posture for a separate State. Gorkhaland is very much on our agenda,” he said.
The GJM leadership considers it politically expedient to take its agitation for Gorkhaland to the Capital at a time when the Centre is giving the Telangana issue yet another hard look.
