NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday chaired a ‘tripartite’ meeting to find a solution to problems related to the Gorkhas during which he assured a delegation of hill parties that the Centre was making constant efforts to resolve issues related to the region.
After the meeting which lasted for about two hours, the home ministry announced that the second round of talks will be held in November after the Diwali celebrations. It is believed that the long-standing demand of according Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to 11 communities of Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars region was discussed in the meeting.
The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Tribal affairs secretary Anil Kumar Jha among others. Principal Resident Commissioner of Bengal Krishna Gupta represented the state.
Led by Darjeeling MP Raju Bisht, the Gorkha delegation comprised of three MLAs Neeraj Zimba, BP Bajgain, Bishal Lama, GNLF’s Mann Ghising, CPRM’s RB Rai, GoRaNiMo’s Dawa Pakhrin, ABGL’s Pratap Khati and SuMuMo’s Bikash Rai.
“The Bengal government was specifically asked to send senior officials for the next round of talks. The all-round development and prosperity of the Darjeeling hills, Terrai and Dooars region is the top most priority of the Modi Government,” the MHA said.