The second round of talks will be held in November

In a bid to resolve longstanding issues related to Gorkhas, the Union Home Ministry has initiated tripartite talks with their representatives from the Darjeeling Hills, Terrai and Dooars region and the Government of West Bengal.

The first round of talks, which took place on Tuesday, was chaired by Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah.

The Gorkha delegation led by Darjeeling MP Raju Bisht highlighted various issues concerning the Gorkhas and the region, said an official press release issued after the meeting.

The Union Home Minister listened to all the parties concerned and has decided to call for the second round of talks in the presence of the senior officials of the Government of West Bengal in November 2021.

While the Principal Resident Commissioner in Delhi represented West Bengal in Tuesday's talks, the state government has been specifically asked to send their senior officials for the next round of talks.

The all-round development and prosperity of the Darjeeling hills, Terrai and Dooars region is the top most priority of the Modi Government, the home ministry pointed out.

On behalf of the Gurkhas, the delegation comprised of the Darjeeling MLA Neeraj Zimba, Kurseong MLA B.P. Bajgain, Kalchini MLA Bishal Lama, GNLF Chief Mann Ghising, CPRM Chief R.B. Rai, GoRaNiMo Chief Dawa Pakhrin, ABGL Chief Pratap Khati and SuMuMo Chief Bikash Rai.

The meeting was also attended by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Member of Parliament from Alipurdwar John Barla, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Secretary Ministry of Tribal Affairs Anil Kumar Jha, Registrar General of India Vivek Joshi, Principal Resident Commissioner of West Bengal Krishna Gupta and other senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs.