Home Ministry Calls A Meeting To Discuss Issues Related To 'Gorkhaland' On 7 October; Congress, Left Slam The Move

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is set to convene a meeting on 7 October under the chairmanship of Minister of State (MoS) G Kishan Reddy with the single objective to discuss the issues related to Gorkhaland, reports Economic Times.

West Bengal's Home Secretary has also been invited to the meeting that will take place in Delhi.

The development has drawn flak from the Indian National Congress (INC) and Left Front, with the leaders claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to refuel separatist movement in the state, given many hill people, especially from Darjeeling district have had a long-standing demand of a separate state.

Meanwhile, BJP's general secretary R Bose has condemned the assertions made by INC and Left front and said that the meeting has been called to discuss various development issues. He also rejected the possibility of BJP going for any split in the state.

It should be noted that currently, Darjeeling has an autonomous development body which has been formed under a tripartite agreement between the Centre, State and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) which is a major political force in the region. GJM's president has also been invited to the meeting called by MHA.