Kolkata: Left Front will hold a meeting on Saturday to discuss ways to tackle the ongoing crisis in Darjeeling hills.

On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had invited Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), spearheading a violent agitation for Gorkhaland in Darjeeling hills and adjacent areas, for talks on June 18 but it was promptly rejected by the outfit, dealing a blow to an early end to unrest in the tourist hotspots.

After two days of sporadic violence, Darjeeling, Siliguri and nearby areas, hit by the Gorkhaland agitation, remained peaceful on Friday with no fresh violence. Bhattacharjee had invited (GJM chief) Bimal Gurung and his followers to meet him separately on June 18 at Writers' Buildings to discuss the Darjeeling issue, Chief Minister's secretariat sources said.

The talks were scheduled separately with the GJM after an all-party meeting a day earlier. However, the offer was rejected by GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri after a central committee meeting of the outfit in Darjeeling which considered the Chief Minister's offer, dismissing as "irrelevant" the agenda of the meeting. Reacting to the rejection of his offer by GJM, the Chief Minister had merely said "let us see what happens."

Source : PTI