Darjeeling meeting : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the third and final day of his visit to North Bengal on Saturday held a meeting with hill leaders at a hotel in Sukani in the foothills of Darjeeling hills, where several long-standing issues and demands to the hill region were resolved.
Amit Shah, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and many hill leaders were present in this meeting. The meeting is believed to focus on finding a “permanent political solution” to the long-standing problems of the Darjeeling hills within a constitutional framework, officials said.
The meeting is believed to focus mainly on the BJP’s election promise of providing a “permanent political solution” to the Gorkha community and other residents of the hill region. The Gorkha community and the people of the region have been demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland for decades. Previous state governments have tried to address the issue through mechanisms such as the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), but these initiatives have failed to ensure long-term peace, economic prosperity and political stability in the region.
However, Rajya Sabha MP Harshvardhan Shringla has refused to comment on the demand for a separate Gorkhaland. He said he did not want to comment on the matter at this time. No clear statement came from other leaders present in the meeting.
Committee to solve problems of hilly areas
According to the report, it has been decided to form a special committee to resolve the region’s problems. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Darjeeling MP Raju Bista announced that a committee would be constituted to resolve the long-standing problems of the hill areas. Pankaj Kumar Singh will serve as moderator for this committee, a responsibility previously assigned to him by the central government. This new committee will consist of political and social leaders from the hill areas, who will work to resolve various issues, demands and matters in the region.
A solution will be found according to the constitutional norms
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Roshan Giri also said that a committee has been formed to present the issues of hill areas to the central government. Through this committee, long-standing demands and problems of the region will be conveyed to the central government. He said, a solution will be found according to the constitutional norms. Thus, political circles in the hill areas are now closely watching to see how much progress this new committee makes towards a permanent solution to the region’s problems.
