In a curious development, the Central Government has sent letters to the Bengal Government and other stake holders in the Darjeeling Gorkhaland movement asking them to attend a meeting in Delhi, sources said.
According to sources in the State Government, the Union Home Ministry has written letters to Principal Secretary Gorkhaland Territorial Authority and the GTA chairman Benoy Tamang inviting them in a meeting to be held at North Block on October 7.
Apart from the State Government and Tamang, letters have also been sent to the Bimal Gurung faction of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, sources said adding the letter has been addressed to Gurung the former GJM chief and GTA chairman until his party witnessed a split in the wake of a violent movement a few years ago in Darjeeling giving rise to a second pro-State Government faction led by Benoy Tamang.
With Gurung and his deputy Roshan Giri since then going into political hibernation and a near-total peace returning in Darjeeling hills the timing and purpose of the letter has raised many an eyebrow.
The letter has also evoked concerns because of the fact that it for the first time refers to the specific term called “Gorkhaland” which thus far has been consciously and carefully avoided by both the Left Front and the Trinamool Congress Governments.
‘Earlier there had been no meeting with any agenda on the specific term of Gorkhaland,” said a Trinamool Congress leader and MLA from North Bengal wondering whether the State Government would at all participate in the meeting.
“There seems to be a specific agenda on the part of the BJP to create a fresh ruckus ahead of the Assembly elections so that they can pocket the Gorkha votes in the Gills and Terrai regions of North Bengal but if they want to once again open the Pandora’s Box then they would suffer heavily in southern part of the State,” said IK Lahiri a political observer.
For now however there was no communication from the pro-State Government Benoy Tamang faction on whether it would attend the meeting or not.
On the other hand the Bimal Gurung faction is known to have requested the Centre to include other stake holders too in the meeting. Among other stakeholders are the Gorkha National Liberation
Front the erstwhile rulers of Drajeeling Hills, and other smaller outfits in the region.