Home minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday held a meeting with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on the demand for statehood to Gorkhaland and is understood to have deliberated on setting up of a regional authority for Gorkhas in Darjeeling. Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh was part of the delegation led by GJM general secretary Roshan Giri.
“We had a detailed discussion on our demand with the home minister. The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and was very positive,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told reporters after an hour-long meeting.
Mr Giri refused to divulge what transpired, but said the Central government should clear its stand on GJM’s demand. The fate of the proposed Darjeeling Regional Authority is hanging in balance with the West Bengal Assembly elections few months away. Sources said the meeting deliberated on the possibility of setting up of the proposed Darjeeling Regional Authority comprising the districts of Darjeeling and adjoining areas but no decision has been taken.
However, it was not clear whether the interim authority would be set up before the West Bengal Assembly elections. Sources indicated that the Marxist government in West Bengal is weighing the pros and cons of such a move.
During the last tripartite political level talks, key issues, including territorial jurisdiction, were sorted out. The Central and West Bengal governments have earlier worked on the subjects and departments which are expected to be handed over to the interim authority. Sources said both the Central and West Bengal governments favoured limiting the proposed authority to just the hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong.
Since its inception in 2007, the GJM has been demanding a separate Gorkhaland state that includes the Siliguri sub-division of Darjeeling district in the plains and contiguous areas in neighbouring Jalpaiguri district.