West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to reconsider the decision to appoint an interlocutor for talks with leaders of the Darjeeling hills, saying she was “surprised and shocked” by the decision. Banerjee said the step was taken “without any consultation with the state government” and asked the PM to revoke the “unilateral action”.

On Thursday, the Centre appointed former deputy national security advisor Pankaj Kumar Singh as an interlocutor to finalise various Gorkha-related demands, including a “permanent political solution” to the demand for Gorkhaland statehood and Scheduled Tribe status for 11 Gorkha sub-tribes. Several Gorkha leaders from the region had welcomed the Centre’s decision.

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