Mamata Banerjee writes to PM Modi opposing appointment of interlocutor for Gorkhaland issue
In a letter sent on Monday, 17 November, West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that she strongly opposes the Union government’s appointment of former Deputy National Security Advisor Pankaj Kumar Singh as an interlocutor in talks about a permanent political solution for the long‑standing demand for a separate Gorkhaland state.
The talks aim to resolve the Gorkha question in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and parts of the Terai and Dooars regions in northern Bengal. Banerjee says that the decision to name Singh, a retired IPS officer, is a unilateral and arbitrary move that violates the Constitution and undermines West Bengal’s autonomy.
This is the second letter the leader of the state government has sent to the prime minister. Her first message, dated 18 October, was answered by the Home Ministry, which advised the Union Home Minister to address the concerns. Yet, the Home Ministry’s memo on 10 November announced that Singh’s office is already functioning. Banerjee calls the move oppressive and a breach of cooperative federalism.
She warns that appointing an interlocutor where a valid state law already governs the issue overtly encroaches on the state’s authority. “Such actions strike at the very heart of cooperative federalism,” she wrote, saying the order has no constitutional or statutory basis. The chief minister demands that the Union government clarify its jurisdiction for this extraordinary step.
The dispute underscores the ongoing political friction over Gorkhaland statehood, the separate identity demanded by many Gorkha residents in the hills and plains south of Nepal. West Bengal’s government insists that any decision on Gorkhaland must involve the state’s legitimate role and legal framework.
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