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Darjeeling unrest: Mamata meets Rajnath; no proposal to form panel to look into Gorkhaland demand, says Centre

Mamata Banerjee met Rajnath Singh and briefed him about the current situation in Darjeeling.

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday briefed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh about the prevailing situation in Darjeeling, where normal life has been hit due to an ongoing strike demanding a separate Gorkhaland state.

During the hour-long meeting at Singh's residence here, Banerjee also discussed the flood-like situation in West Bengal due to heavy rains. The chief minister was in the capital to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Ram Nath Kovind as the 14th President. During her meeting with Singh late evening, Banerjee apprised him of the security situation in the hill district of Darjeeling and the steps taken by her government to bring back normalcy in the region, an official privy to the meeting said.

The home minister assured Banerjee of full cooperation and asked her to take all necessary steps to restore normalcy in Darjeeling, the official said. Darjeeling has been witnessing indefinite strike called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), demanding the separate state of Gorkhaland, since June 12. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha today, Union Minister of State for Home, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said there was no proposal to constitute a committee to look into the separate state demand of the Gorkhas and others agitating in Darjeeling. Banerjee will leave for Kolkata tomorrrow. 

There was no proposal to constitute a committee to look into the separate state demand of the Gorkhas and others agitating in Darjeeling, West Bengal, the government said in the Lok Sabha today. "There is no proposal to appoint a committee to look into the merits and demerits of the demands of the Gorkhas, Adivasis and others," Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said in a written reply to a question in the Lower House of Parliament.

The Darjeeling hills have been witnessing an indefinite strike called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, since June 12. "Violence and damage to public property have been reported during the agitations," said Ahir. He added that according to the Constitution, the states were primarily responsible for the maintenance of law-and- order.

The Centre, on a request from a state government, provided assistance by sending Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel, said the minister. Similarly, CAPF battalions were provided to the West Bengal government as well for the maintenance of law-and-order in the Darjeeling hills, he added.

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