West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (November 17, 2025) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reiterating her request to the Union government to revoke the appointment of a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer as an interlocutor for holding discussions on issues related to the Gorkhas of the Darjeeling hills.
This is the second letter by Ms. Banerjee to Mr. Modi on the issue. Earlier, on October 18, 2025 the Chief Minister had written a similar letter to the Prime Minister, expressing her reservations over the appointment of the interlocutor.
“The present move by the Central government is not only unconstitutional but it also appears to be a politically motivated attempt to disturb the peace and stability of the region. The Government of West Bengal categorically rejects and strongly objects to this unconstitutional, arbitrary, and politically coloured interference in the internal affairs of the State,” the CM wrote on Monday.
Citing the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Act, 2011, the legislation behind the setting up of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, which governs the areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, the Chief Minister said the statute “expressly defines the government as the Government of the State of West Bengal”, and therefore, “the Central government has no jurisdictional competence to appoint any representative or interlocutor in matters pertaining to these regions”.
