Darjeeling's political parties, MP, meet MoS Kishan Reddy to find a 'permanent political solution'

By Joymala Bagchi
New Delhi [India], December 17 : In an important development, political parties that operate primarily in the northern-most district of West Bengal along with Raju Bista, Darjeeling MP, on Thursday met Minister of State G Kishan Reddy at the North Block to find a permanent solution to problems of the region.
They discussed the demand for a permanent political solution to the Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars and also the "re-listing" of 11 Gorkha communities in Scheduled Tribe category.
After attending the meeting, Bista said, "This is a positive development. We all know the Gorkhas have been carrying with them the tag of 'bahari'. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its 2019 election manifesto said that they would bring a permanent political solution for the people of Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars. The permanent political solution will be brought by central govt and from parliament. We can say that today's meeting paved the way toward it."
Bista said, "West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is claiming that she would bring a permanent solution. This is a lie. We are rejecting her permanent solution which had been Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). People who are with the GTA will be rejected by the public too."
The MP from Darjeeling said the issue of 11 Gorkha tribe communities that should get the status of ST was also discussed.
Since the 1951 census, the names of these 11 hill tribes was never included in the tribal list of India.
Among the political parties present in the meeting were Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM), Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL).
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya who is also in charge of the state of West Bengal was also present at the meeting.