Another round of talks was held in Delhi today to address the issues in the Darjeeling Hills and its adjoining areas. Notably, however, no representative from the West Bengal government attended the meeting.
The discussions were chaired by Nityanand Rai, the Union minister of state for home affairs (N).
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The meeting focused on two main agendas: the permanent political solution (PPS) and granting tribal status to 11 Gorkha sub-castes that were previously left out. In addition, there were detailed discussions about the aspirations of the Gorkha people and others related to the Bodoland Territorial Administration, the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland, and even the possibility of a Union Territory.
The talks, which lasted for nearly one-and-a-half hours, proceeded without the participation of the state government’s representatives. Instead, the Union government, along with representatives from Darjeeling Hills, Terai, and Dooars, were involved in the discussions.
The primary focus of the talks was the history of the region, the current issues of deprivation, discrimination, and exploitation faced by the people, and exploring future solutions.
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, who led the delegation from Darjeeling, stated, “Once again, disrespecting the federal structure, the West Bengal government failed to attend the meeting. We also raised the urgency of addressing the issue of the 11 left-out Gorkha sub-tribes. The discussions centered on various constitutional solutions under the Indian framework.” He added: “We have taken a united stand that the only acceptable solution would be one that fulfils our aspirations and ensures constitutional protection for our land, people, and region.”
Central minister Nityanand Rai, affirmed that the central government is committed to a dialogue-led solution, respecting the federal structure. He assured the delegation that the central government would fulfil the aspirations of the people through a constitutional solution. According to Mr Bista, Mr Rai also mentioned that further actions would be taken after consultations with Union home minister Amit Shah.
The Gorkha delegation included GNLF chief Mann Ghising, GJM chief Bimal Gurung, CPRM President JB Rai, GoRaNiMo chief Dawa Pakhrin, SuMuMo chief Bikash Rai, BJP Darjeeling (Hill) president Dr Kalyan Dewan, Darjeeling MLA Neeraj Zimba, Kalchini MLA Bishal Lama, GNLF general secretary and former MLA NB Chettri, and GJM secretary Roshan Giri.
The meeting was also attended by Union home secretary Govind Mohan, Registrar General of India Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, joint secretary of the ministry of tribal affairs Roumuan Paite, and other senior officials from the ministry of home affairs.
