Shah Forms Panel To Draft Gorkha Accord
Mr Shah also entrusted Pankaj Kumar Singh, a retired IPS officer appointed by his ministry as Darjeeling interlocutor, to lead the panel on the issue.
Kolkata: The Centre on Saturday constituted a committee to finalise the details of an accord aimed at providing a “permanent political solution” to the Gorkha issue in the hill areas of West Bengal, a key promise in the BJP’s Assembly election manifesto.
Union home minister Amit Shah announced the decision after chairing a meeting with representatives of the Gorkha community and various political parties at Sukna in Siliguri at the end of his visit to West Bengal.
The committee will be headed by Pankaj Kumar Singh, a retired IPS officer, former deputy national security adviser and the Centre’s interlocutor for Darjeeling. It has been tasked with finalising the modalities and details for drafting the proposed agreement within the framework of the Constitution.
The meeting was attended by Union home secretary Govind Mohan, Intelligence Bureau chief Mahesh Dixit, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, state chief secretary Manoj Agarwal and DGP S.N. Gupta.
The Gorkha delegation included Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, Rajya Sabha MP Harshvardhan Singla, state minister Bishal Lama, BJP MLAs Bharat Chettri, Sonam Lama and Noman Rai, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung and Gorkha National Liberation Front leader Mann Ghising, among others.
Bista said representatives placed their views before Shah, who subsequently outlined a roadmap for resolving the issue. “Whatever be the solution, it will be within the constitutional framework of our country,” he said.
In a statement, the Centre said issues concerning the hill population, including demands for a distinct identity, a permanent political solution and constitutional recognition, were discussed in detail.
Shah assured the representatives that a permanent political solution would be worked out soon within the framework of the Constitution. He also promised to consider other demands of the community sympathetically and provide adequate Central funding to address pending issues.
The Centre said the committee headed by Singh would finalise the details of the agreement for a permanent political solution for people of the hill areas of West Bengal.