West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing “surprise and shock” at the Centre’s unilateral appointment of an interlocutor for the “issues relating to Gurkhas in Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars regions of West Bengal”.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had on October 16 appointed retired IPS officer Pankaj Kumar Singh as the interlocutor to hold talks with representatives of political parties in Darjeeling hills to address their political demands.
The appointment of Mr. Singh, a former chief of the Border Security Force (BSF) who also served as Deputy National Security Advisor, was welcomed by the political parties in Darjeeling, including the Bharatiya Janata Party. But Ms. Banerjee said the appointment was made without any consultations with the West Bengal government. Ms. Banerjee also said the appointment was against the spirit of cooperative federalism — one of the foundational principles of our Constitution.
“This appointment has been made without any consultation with the Government of West Bengal, even though the issues under reference directly relate to the governance, peace, and administrative stability of the area under Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), an autonomous body under Government of West Bengal,” she said.
In the letter to the Prime Minister, the Trinamool Congress Chairperson recalled how the GTA was constituted following a Tripartite Agreement signed on 18th July, 2011 at Darjeeling, between the Government of India, the Government of West Bengal and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), “in the presence of the then Hon’ble Union Home Minister and the Chief Minister of West Bengal”.
The Chief Minister, while emphasising that there has been peace and harmony prevailing in the hill districts with the concerted and continuous efforts of her government since 2011, said that “any unilateral action in this sensitive matter will not be in interest of peace, and harmony in the region”.
“The Government of West Bengal, therefore, is firmly of the view that any initiative concerning the Gurkha community or the GTA region must be undertaken in full consultation with the State Government, in order to preserve the hard-earned peace and tranquillity in the region,” Ms. Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister requested the Prime Minister to “re-consider and revoke this appointment order issued without prior and due consultation with the Government of West Bengal, as is expected in the true spirit of federalism and mutual respect between the Union and the States”.
The demand for the creation of a separate State of Gorkhaland has been the fulcrum of politics in the Darjeeling hills since the 1980s . The region has witnessed a series of violent protests and shutdowns, with the violence in 2017 claiming 11 lives, and the shutdown lasting 100 days.
Along with the BJP, the GJM and Gorkha National Liberation Front have welcomed the appointment of an interlocutor. The Trinamool had called the move a political gimmick before the Assembly election.
