The announcement was made by GJM president Bimal Gurung at a rally at Kalimpong. Four other rallies were organised at other places in the Darjeeling district where similar announcements were made by other leaders of the outfit.

“We received feelers that by February 9 or February 10, the Centre will inform us about the next date. I will expect that Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram will be present in the meeting. And I will also be in that meeting where I will offer a formula which should be acceptable to all,” Gurung told the rally.

“But if no positive response comes, we will start home rule in the Hills and as a first step we will drive out both the DM and SP from here,” the Morcha chief added.

During the fourth round of tripartite talks — involving GJM, Centre and the state government — that took place in Darjeeling on December 21, the GJM had demanded that the next round of talks should be on political level. Union Home Secretary G K Pillai had told the GJM that the date on the next round of talks will be announced within 45 days. The deadline expired last week.

Pillai, however, told The Indian Express that the issue would be decided at the CCPA meeting, which would be held “very soon”.