Darjeeling MP Raju Bista seeks lasting solution

Darjeeling: Darjeeling Lok Sabha MP Raju Bista on Monday raised the issue of finding a permanent political solution to the long-pending political demand of the people from Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars region. Speaking in Lok Sabha, Bista raised the issue twice – once in Zero Hour and also under Rule 377 which permits the members to raise issues of urgent public importance.
In a release, the MP said, “Today, I raised the demand for a permanent solution to the long-pending demands of the people of Darjeeling Hills, Terai and Dooars under matters of urgent public importance in Parliament.”
In his speech under 377, he informed Parliament, “The people of Darjeeling Hills, Terai, and Dooars have a long-pending political demand which erupted as the Gorkhaland statehood movement of 1986-88, 2013-14, and again in 2017.”
“The government has already experimented twice by creating semi-autonomous bodies -- DGHC and GTA, both of which failed to address the demand for a permanent political solution to the long-pending demand for a separate state,” Bista said, adding: “From the perspective of national-security, the area lies in the critical chicken-neck region that connects the Northeast with mainland India. Today, the region is vulnerable to illegal infiltration and severely lacks in development and economic progress.”
“Through this august house, I once again request the government to intervene in the matter and initiate tripartite talks involving the Union government, West Bengal government, and local representatives to find a permanent political solution to the long-pending demands of the people at the earliest,” he said.
Bista added, “I am most hopeful that the government will expedite the process of finding a permanent political solution so that people here can live in peace and prosper.”

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