The Centre has appointed former Deputy National Security Adviser Pankaj Kumar Singh as the interlocutor to hold talks with Gurkha representatives to address their political demands, including the call for a separate State, officials said on Friday.
Lieutenant-General Vijay Madan (retired), who was the last interlocutor to be appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2009, had quit in 2011.
The move coming ahead of the West Bengal Assembly election assumes significance, especially with the ruling Trinamool Congress consistently opposed to the idea of bifurcation of the State.
Political parties in the Darjeeling Hills have hailed the appointment of an interlocutor to hold discussions on the long-standing demand of a permanent political solution for the people of the region.
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista in a social media post said Pankaj Kumar Singh, IPS (retired), who served as India’s Deputy National Security Adviser (Deputy NSA), had been appointed interlocutor by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to discuss issues concerning people of the region.
