JOIN USCentre begins tripartite talks on Gorkha issue
Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday began tripartite talks with representatives of Gorkha region of West Bengal as part of efforts to resolve issues related to the region.
The first round of talks were attended by representatives from Darjeeling Hills, Terai and Dooars region, and the West Bengal government.
“The Union Home Minister listened to all the parties concerned and has decided to call for the second round of talks in the presence of the senior officials of the Government of West Bengal in November 2021,” a Home Ministry statement said.
In its 2019 Lok Sabha elections manifesto, the BJP had made assurances of finding a permanent political solution to the more than 100-year-old demand of a separate state for the Gorkhas within the Indian federal structure.
The Home Ministry said the West Bengal Government has been specifically asked to send their senior officials for the next round of talks.
“The all-round development and prosperity of the Darjeeling hills, Terrai and Dooars region is the topmost priority of the Modi Government,” it said.
The Gorkhas have been demanding separation from West Bengal on ethnic grounds citing differences in language, culture and traditions.
The meeting chaired by Shah was attended by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Member of Parliament from Alipurdwar John Barla, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Secretary Ministry of Tribal Affairs Anil Kumar Jha, Registrar General of India Vivek Joshi, Principal Resident Commissioner of West Bengal Krishna Gupta and other senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
On behalf of the Gorkhas, the delegation consisted of the Darjeeling MLA Neeraj Zimba, Kurseong MLA B.P. Bajgain, Kalchini MLA Bishal Lama, GNLF Chief Mann Ghising, CPRM Chief R B Rai, GoRaNiMo Chief Dawa Pakhrin, ABGL Chief Pratap Khati and SuMuMo Chief Bikash Rai.
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