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Kolkata, October 18 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposing the central government’s decision to appoint former Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) and former Border Security Force Director General Pankaj Kumar Singh as interlocutor for trilateral talks on a permanent political solution to the long-standing demand for a separate Gorkhaland state. The hills of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong and parts of the Terai and Dooars regions in northern Bengal are planned.
“I am surprised and shocked to learn that the Central Government has appointed retired IPS officer Pankaj Kumar Singh as interlocutor to discuss issues related to Gorkhas in the Darjeeling Hills, Terai and Dooars regions of West Bengal,” the letter said.
In the letter, Chief Minister Banerjee has claimed that the decision to appoint the interlocutor was taken without consultation with the state government, although matters related to the appointment were related to “governance, peace and administrative stability of the area under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), an autonomous body under the West Bengal government.”
“Such unilateral action is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperative federalism which is one of the fundamental principles of our Constitution,” he said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the letter, the Chief Minister had also claimed that the present situation of peace and harmony in the region has been possible due to the concentrated and sustained efforts of the West Bengal government led by him since 2011.
He also said that the state government is of the view that any initiative related to the Gorkha community or the GTA area should be taken by the Central Government only in full consultation with the West Bengal government, so that peace and harmony can be maintained in the area.
“Any unilateral action in this sensitive matter will not be in the interest of peace and harmony in the region,” the letter said.
At the end of the letter, Chief Minister Banerjee requested Prime Minister Modi to reconsider and cancel the decision of appointing the interlocutor.
–IANS
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