Tripartite talks between the Union Government, West Bengal government, and Gorkha representatives started in the national capital on Tuesday.
This was done with the intention to resolve the issues related to the Gorkhas, an official statement said. “The Union Home Ministry began tripartite talks today with the Gorkha representatives from the Darjeeling Hills, Terrai and Dooars region and the Government of West Bengal. The talks aimed at resolving the issues related to the Gorkhas.” The talks were chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Gorkha delegation was led by Darjeeling MP Raju Bisht and he highlighted various issues concerning the Gorkhas and the region. In the meeting, Shah said that the Central Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is constantly making efforts to resolve issues related to the Gorkhas and of the region. “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.
The West Bengal Government has been specifically asked to send their senior officials for the next round of talks,” an official statement said. “The all-round development and prosperity of the Darjeeling hills, Terrai and Dooars region is the top most priority of the Modi Government,” the statement said.
The meeting was also attended by the Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Member of Parliament from Alipurdwar John Barla, the Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Secretary Ministry of Tribal Affairs Anil Kumar Jha, the 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 Gurkhas, the delegation composed 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.