Centre to hold talks with groups seeking statehood

Shinde meets Gorkha leaders; home ministry in talks with Assam groups

The Centre said it will hold talks with representative groups of the ethnic population in Assam and West Bengal demanding statehood. The states have seen agitation for bifurcation since the creation of Telangana was announced.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday met a delegation of Gorkha leaders, led by Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh of the BJP, and assured the members the Centre will soon convene a tripartite meeting on the issue. "I will also talk to the chief minister (Mamata Banerjee) to discuss the issue," Shinde told reporters.

Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami would meet the chief secretary of West Bengal and leaders of the Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee (GJAC).

Darjeeling has come to a halt due to the ongoing indefinite strike. But, Gorkha leaders have hinted at suspending the strike, after the latest development.

The home ministry had started talks with the groups in Assam, which has been on the boil since the decision to create Telangana was announced. Organisations representing the Bodos and tribal groups, including the Koch Rajbonshis and those demanding an autonomous state of Karbi Anglong, are scheduled to meet home ministry officials. Representatives of the Joint Action Committee for Autonomous State met home ministry officials on Monday, in a first of a series of meetings. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had rushed to New Delhi a fortnight back and met the prime minister, requesting the Centre initiate dialogue with groups demanding separate states. The groups had made it clear to the state leadership that as the decision for statehood would be taken up by the Centre, they were not interested in holding talks with state leaders.

Assam Congress leaders are a miffed lot. A senior leader from the region said the Congress leadership's "arbitrary" decision to agree to the demand for Telangana had revived the long-standing demands of Bodos and tribals in the region.

"The Pradesh Congress has officially made its stand clear that we want a united Assam." However, he added, "As these demands have resurfaced, we need to be in talks with them, so that they do not resort to violence." The main focus now, he said, was to listen to the demands of the groups.