Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a delegation of members of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha led by BJP lawmaker SS Ahluwalia in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)
A delegation of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and sought setting up of a committee that would look into the demand for creation of separate Gorkhaland.
The delegation was led by Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Lok Sabha MP from Darjeeling SS Ahluwalia.
"The delegation discussed various aspects relating to their demands with the Prime Minister and requested him to consider them sympathetically," a PMO statement said.
Sources in the delegation said members of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which has alliance with the BJP, pointed out to the Prime Minister that the issue of separate Gorkhaland was mentioned in the BJP's manifesto for Lok Sabha polls last year.
They said a committee should be set up to look into the demand for separate Gorkhaland, the sources said.
The Prime Minister told the delegation that the BJP is the only party that thinks about the welfare of the gorkhas, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha sources said, adding they were hopeful.