Calcutta, June 13: The CPM state secretariat today tried to accommodate two shades of opinion in the party and the Left Front on how to tackle the Darjeeling situation, approving the government’s move to invite the Morcha for talks on June 18 while subtly rejecting its demand for statehood.

The chief minister had earlier said talks could be held only if the hill party dropped the demand for Gorkhaland but sections of the CPM and the allies want the government to be “tactically flexible”.

“Before the Gorkhaland movement of the 1980s revisits us, we must ensure that our party is not isolated. The all-party meeting is aimed at making both the Opposition and the allies committed to the cause of the state’s integrity,” a CPM state secretariat member said. “The talks offer is to prove we are not rigid…. Now the ball is in the Centre’s court.”

The chief minister’s invite asking the allies and the Opposition to join the all-party “policy-making meeting” on June 17 said: “I invite your constructive suggestions to protect the state’s integrity and peaceful atmosphere in the wake of recent movements in Darjeeling hills and adjoining areas.”

His letter to Bimal Gurung stressed on “restoration of normalcy” and “maintenance of law and order” while offering to discuss the Morcha’s “grievances, if any”.

The allies didn’t like the mention of the chief minister’s resolve to “protect the state’s integrity”. “It’s imposing a condition on the talks and ultimately hindering the peace move,” said Manju Majumder, whose party, the CPI, supports demands for a separate Telengana and Vidarbha.

For RSP leader Kshiti Goswami, it is a question of “tactical flexibility”. “No mainstream party can support Bengal’s split but it’s better not to make it a condition for talks.”

The Bloc’s Ashok Ghosh felt “the grievances of north Bengal for lack of development” were making communities restive.