Overview
- In a second letter dated November 17, the West Bengal chief minister urged the Prime Minister to revoke the order appointing an interlocutor for Gorkha issues.
- She cited a November 10 Ministry of Home Affairs memo indicating the Interlocutor’s Office has already started functioning.
- Her letter notes the Prime Minister’s Office had acknowledged her October 18 objections and forwarded them to the Union home minister.
- Banerjee calls the move unilateral and unconstitutional under the Gorkha Territorial Administration Act, alleging a politically motivated attempt to disrupt regional stability.
- The Centre’s appointee is former deputy NSA Pankaj Kumar Mishra, tasked with recommending social, economic and cultural measures for Gorkha communities in Darjeeling, the Dooars and the Terai, a step unfolding as state elections approach next year.