The only point of agreement was the nod from both sides for a tripartite meeting to be held between the Morcha leaders, the state Government and the Union Home Ministry in future. The Chief Minister added that the leaders of the present movement in Darjeeling should agree on an agenda with the state Government before the talks are held. “It would make the meeting meaningful,” said Bhattacharjee. But the Morcha leaders iterated that that any talks short of the Gorkhaland issue would be “meaningless” to them.

“The Chief Minister wanted to give us more financial and administrative powers. But we categorically said that we have not come here to discuss more powers or more money for the Council,” said GJM central committee member Amar Lama on behalf of the delegation from the GJM, which included Anmol Prasad and Raju Pradhan among others. “We want a tripartite meeting on the creation of a new state of Gorkhaland,” he added.

Asked if the meeting between the two sides was useful, Lama said, “We have rejected the Chief Minister’s proposal and now it is up to him to decide. Our demand is Gorkhaland and how can there be any talks without this demand.” When questioned if the Morcha would once again go back to an indefinite strike, Lama said the agitation would definitely continue but the decision on bandhs would be taken after a top level meeting of the GJM is held.

In the meanwhile, the Chief Minister said that the delegation from Darjeeling was once again told to give up the demand for separate statehood. “We should stay together as we have done for so many years,” Bhattacharjee said. The state Government is ready to discuss more financial and administrative powers for Darjeeling, he said and added that there has to be a “consensus” on a political solution to the problem within the framework of the constitution. “I have urged the leaders who had come for talks to go back to Darjeeling and discuss the issue so that the state Government can prepare for the tripartite talks in Delhi and the doors for a negotiated settlement can be kept open,” Bhattacharjee said.