Kolkata, December 14: The West Bengal Pradesh Congress on Sunday announced that it is against the formation of a separate state of Gorkhaland and will fight it politically.
The stand, already stated by the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), was reiterated by the Pradesh Congress president and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee after an informal meeting with the PCC leaders in Kolkata on Sunday.
Mukherjee also held an informal meeting with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday where various issues, including the situation in the Hills and the forthcoming municipal elections, were discussed.
“Pranab Mukherjee said the stand that the PCC had taken on Gorkhaland was the right one. We maintain that Gorkhaland and Telangana issues should not be seen as similar. They are distinct. Something that works well for Andhra Pradesh will not necessarily fit well for Bengal,” Pradip Bhattacharjee, working president of the PCC, said. Mukherjee also stressed on speeding up the membership drive of the party, which will end this month.
After the Union government announced formation of a separate state of Telangana, there were rumors that the Congress party might take a similar and sympathetic stand on Gorkhaland. No Congress leader at the Centre has made any statement on the Gorkhaland issue after the announcement of separate statehood for Telangana.
During Mukherjee’s meeting with Mamata Banerjee “the two leaders held discussions for more than half an hour. Both Congress and Trinamool Congress are against the separate statehood demand and will jointly oppose it,” said a Trinamool Congress source. The informal meeting was held when Mamata went to visit Mukherjee’s wife who had recently undergone an eye operation.
——Agencies