Gorkhas keen to join tripartite talks on Gorkhaland statehood -

Siliguri: The fast by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), the forum spearheading the movement for separate Gorkha state in West Bengal , entered the eighth day on Friday. The GJM rejected the West Bengal government's appeal to withdraw the stir but said it would participate in the tripartite talks scheduled to be held on December 21. Gorkhas, who are ethnic Nepalese, have been demanding that a separate state should be carved out of the Darjeeling region which would help them to protect their culture and heritage. The demand for Gokhaland gained momentum after New Delhi announced last week that it would carve out a new state of Telangana out of the present state of Andhra Pradesh in south India . "This is our right to demand our separate state. Gorkhaland will be formed. We have put forth our demands abiding by the rules of the constitutional rights," said Bimal Gurung, chief of GJMM. Activists of GJMM earlier said that the government ought to consider their demand and not prompt them to sacrifice their lives. The GJM, however, said it would not settle for 'anything less than a separate state'. "We have spoken to the Home Minister and this is for sure that we do not want to live in Bengal anymore. We want Gorkhaland, our separate state. Nothing else will be discussed except for the separate state issue," said Roshan Giri, General Secretary of GJM.