Tripartite talks second round scheduled on April 2

GANGTOK/DARJEELING, : Darjeeling MP Raju Bista on Wednesday informed about the invitation received from Home Affairs ministry to attend the second round of tripartite talks involving the Central government, all stakeholders from Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars region, and the West Bengal government.

The talks, scheduled on April 2 at the North Block in New Delhi, will be chaired by Home Affairs minister of State, it was informed.

“The Union government is committed to resolving the long-standing demands of the people from our region, through peaceful dialogue and holistic approach, taking into consideration concerns from all stakeholders,” said Bista in a media statement.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Home minister Amit Shah, many historic contentious issues have been addressed and amicably resolved. I am confident that this meeting will be highly fruitful, and bring happy news for our region,” said the Darjeeling MP.

The last tripartite meeting was held on12th October 2021 at Delhi where the Union Home Minister was also present but no concrete result came. It was decided then to hold another meeting in November that year.

However, no such meeting had been called until now. Issues like Permanent Political Solution (PPS) and tribal status for 11 Gorkha communities had been discussed in the meeting then.

GJM spokesperson Kishore Bharati said: “We have received the message of the tripartite talks from a source and we feel that this will bring a solution for the Gorkhas. We are also hopeful that the Bengal government will also participate in the meeting. We have already made our demands clear to the Centre and now we will have to listen to what the Centre has to offer us.”

Bharati informed that a GJM team led by president Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri will attend the meeting. He said that their main agenda would be the demand of Gorkha land but it was up to the government while citing the example of the Bodoland Territorial Council maintaining that they have also not been given Statehood at once.

Meanwhile, in a press release from GNLF, Darjeeling MLA Neeraj Zimba said: “The resumption of these tripartite talks rekindles hope and confidence in the hearts of our people. We look forward to a fruitful outcome, and call upon all stakeholders to approach this process with a spirit of unity, maturity, and resolve keeping in mind the collective aspiration for a PPS that safeguards the identity, dignity, and democratic rightsof the Indian Gorkhas within the framework of the Indian Constitution.”

Zimba maintained that this was not just a meeting but a moment of opportunity, responsibility, and hope.