To find a ‘permanent political solution’ to the pending issues in the Darjeeling Hills, Siliguri, Terai and Dooars, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to hold a tripartite meeting with the stakeholders and the West Bengal Government in the first week of September.
On Friday evening, BJP MLA from Darjeeling Assembly constituency, Neeraj Tamang Zimba and Darjeeling MP, Raju Bista met the Union home minister and sought a ‘permanent political solution’ in the Hills as promised by the BJP in its manifesto during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
They have also requested the home minister to recognise 11 Indian Gorkha sub-communities as Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Speaking to News18.com over phone, Neeraj Tamang Zimba said, “Yes, today we met our Home Minister and appraised him about the current situation in the Darjeeling hills. Our meeting hovered around ‘permanent political solution’ in the Hills and we reminded him about the need to expedite the process of including 11 left over Gorkha sub-tribes as ST.”
When asked to define ‘permanent political solution’ as BJP never promised a separate ‘Gorkhaland’, he said, “The aspiration of people in the Hills is a separate State of Gorkhaland. The Union Home Minister told us that he will hold a tripartite meeting in the first week of September to discuss a ‘permanent political solution’. The solution will be depending on talks. We need to sit and talk. Without discussing the matter, the issue will not be resolved. All the stakeholders must sit and talk”
On conducting a central audit (due to allegations of misusing the funds) of both Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and various Development Boards, he said, “No, today we only discussed the long pending ‘permanent political solution’ and the demand for ST status for 11 Gorkha communities.”
“It is a long pending demand (Gorkhaland), I am confident that the Government of India will expedite the process and fulfil our demand,” Zimba said.
The demand for ‘Gorkhaland’ has been simmering for decades with various groups demanding the hill regions around Darjeeling be carved out for a separate state from West Bengal. In the 1980s, the agitation became violent but peace returned after talks between the then CPI (M) government and agitators led by Subhash Ghisingh.
Between July and September, 2017, the Darjeeling hills suffered a 104-day record general shutdown called by GJM chief Bimal Gurung who demanded for a separate Gorkhaland.
During the agitation, 13 persons, including two policemen, were killed.
The first demand for Gorkhaland was submitted to the Morley-Minto Reforms panel in 1907. Then, in 1952, the All India Gorkha League submitted a memorandum to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for a separate state.
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