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Mukherjee said this while addressing the media after an internal meeting with senior officials of Central Excise and Customs in Kolkata on Sunday.
Asked whether the demand for Gorkhaland could be resolved through a dialogue, he said: “I don’t think there is any problem which cannot be resolved through discussions.” When told that GJM was still sticking to its demand for a separate state, Mukherjee said: “If anyone is arrogant on his demand and is not flexible enough, then the situation may turn critical.”
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had already spoken to the GJM leadership and he was hopeful that the issue will be resolved through a dialogue, Mukherjee added.
Reacting to Mukherjee’s statements, the GJM leadership clearly stated that its agenda was only Gorkhaland. “We will speak about only and only Gorkhaland. There is no other point or demand,” said Roshan Chetri, a senior leader.
On Saturday, the GJM had spoken to Chidambaram, who appealed to them to lift the indefinite hungerstrike in Darjeeling and Kolkata. Following this, GJM leaders had decided to “relax” the hungerstrike in Darjeeling.
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Dear Mr. Minister.... You are supposed to uphold the dignity of your post.. you are supposed to speak for the welfare of our great nation and it's people... you are not supposed to make threatening statements right before a secretarial level meeting to resolve the issue... So what if the situation turns "critical"???? It is our right to demand SWARAJ in our country and the founders of our constitution did understand that people like you and your kind may not ensure SWARAJ for everyone... That's why we have Article - 3 of our constitution ensuring the right to demand a separate state within our country India... WHO ARE YOU TO THREATEN US BY SAYING THE SITUATION WILL TURN CRITICAL????? The situation has been critical for us since independence... and we look forward to the cooperation of the Central government to resolve this issue... We do not want a Bengali to comment on Gorkhaland... Is there no other person running the government who will issue a more balanced statement???