New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has briefed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh about the prevailing situation in Darjeeling. During the meeting, Mr Singh urged her to restore normalcy there at the earliest citing its proximity to Doklam, the current Indo-China border flashpoint.

"Given that Darjeeling is strategically located and lies not too far from the Doklam area, care should be taken to see that the unrest there does not linger. The state should take the lead and initiate concrete steps to bring back normalcy to the hill areas of West Bengal," Mr Singh said. Banerjee on her part apprised Singh about the steps already taken by her government to contain the law and order crisis in the hill areas arising out of the on-going stir.

The home minister assured Banerjee of full support from the Centre as the state tries to normalise the situation in Darjeeling. "The core issues can be resolved through negotiations once the law and order situation is under control," he is said to have conveyed to the chief minister. Darjeeling has been witnessing indefinite strike called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), demanding the separate state of Gorkhaland, since June 12.