Mamata asks concerned parties to attend all-party meeting

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today urged all concerned parties and stakeholders to attend an all-party meeting called by the state government in Siliguri on June 22 on the prevailing situation in Darjeeling.

Urging the people to maintain peace, she said, “Violence cannot be a solution to any problem and only talks can solve it.”

“Though I will not be there, other ministers have been given the responsibility to hold the meeting,” Banerjee told reporters at the airport before leaving for Netherlands to speak on the occasion of UN Public Service Day on June 23.

She accused the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) of hatching a “conspiracy to divide the state”.

The GJM had on Saturday ruled out any discussion with the West Bengal government.

“We are ready for talks with the Centre, but the agenda has to be only Gorkhaland,” GJM Darjeeling MLA Amar Singh Rai had said.