Expressing "surprise and shock" over the appointment of an interlocutor to hold discussions on the issues relating to Gorkhas, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday (October 18, 2025) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded revocation of the decision.
Ms. Banerjee claimed her government was not consulted before retired IPS officer Pankaj Kumar Singh was appointed as an interlocutor to hold discussions on the issues relating to Gorkhas in Darjeeling Hills, Terai and Dooars regions of West Bengal, which she said was "inconsistent with the spirit of cooperative federalism".
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"This appointment has been made without any consultation with the Government of West Bengal, even though the issues under reference directly relate to the governance, peace, and administrative stability of the area under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), an autonomous body under the Government of West Bengal," she said in the two-page letter.
"Such unilateral action is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperative federalism that forms one of the foundational principles of our Constitution," she added.
