Policemen patrol the Darjeeling More area. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, April 10: Over 5,000 residents of the town today affirmed that even if a separate state of Gorkhaland is created in future, Siliguri can never be a part of it.

The CPM-controlled Siliguri Municipal Corporation had organised a civic convention at Kanchenjunga Stadium, where the residents had assembled. They resolved that dialogue was the solution to the various problems in the Darjeeling hills.

“In the absence of peace, the entire development process gets halted. Some states in the Northeast are examples of this,” said Asok Bhattacharya, the Siliguri MLA and Bengal urban development minister.

The minister, without naming any organisation, said “ominous” forces were taking advantage of the tension in the region to raise their heads and create trouble between the hills and the plains.

Apart from the minister there were several speakers at the convention presided by mayor Bikash Ghosh. Litterateur Asru Kumar Shikdar said: “Siliguri is a cosmopolitan city and separatists will be kept at bay by creating mass awareness.”

Table-tennis player and Arjuna awardee Mantu Ghosh said any move to hamper peace and harmony in the region must be stopped.

The RSP had earlier boycotted the convention, which was also not attended by the Congress, Trinamul Congress and the BJP.

Later, at a news meet, Bhattacharya said he wondered why Congress and central leaders like Priya Ranjan Das Munshi were silent after CPM offices in Kalimpong and Kurseong were ransacked today.