After a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supremo Bimal Gurung today said he would take oath as the chief executive of the hill council in Darjeeling again at her request.
"We had a very good discussion. The Chief Minister has requested me to come back as GTA chief. GTA is my dream and it is also the dream of the Chief Minister," Gurung told reporters after a 20 minute meeting with Banerjee.
"I will take oath as the GTA chief executive at Raj Bhavan on December 26," he said.
Members of GTA Sabha had passed an unanimous resolution seeking Gurung's reinstatement as the GTA chief on December 16.
Gurung had resigned as chief executive of the hill council, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in July just prior to the agitation in the hills for a separate Gorkhaland, following the Centre's decision to create Telangana.
To a question, he said "We are now concentrating how to make the GTA more effective and the Gorkhaland issue was not a point of discussion during the meeting.
"There is complete peace in Darjeeling and we request tourists to visit the hills more and more as the climate is very good now. There was snowfall in Darjeeling yesterday," Gurung said.
On the strained relations between the GJM and the state government time and again, he said "In a family there is a mother, a sister and other children.
"So problems crop up, but are sorted out. The problems can be resolved through discussions and you (the media) please should not create a hindrance."
On the release of jailed GJM leaders, Gurung said "There was a good discussion. When there is a good discussion, we can expect a good result. We hope that within two or three days a solution to the problem would be found."
He said the Chief Minister was also requested to hold the panchayat elections in the hills in July after the Lok Sabha elections.
The meeting between Banerjee and Gurung was the first since January this year when she had to face slogan-shouting supporters of the hill party in Darjeeling during the inauguration of the Darjeeling leg of the Uttarbanga Utsav.
The GJM delegation held a separate 45 minute meeting Finance minister Amit Mitra and Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra on GTA's development and other issues.