Pankaj Kumar Singh, former deputy national security advisor, who has been appointed an interlocutor by the Centre to look into the "issue of Darjeeling, Dooars and Terai", has reached the region at a time when political temperatures are rising ahead of the Bengal Assembly elections.
One of the core political issues for the Gorkhas centres on identity.
Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista, in a message to this newspaper, said: “I have been informed that the Interlocutor and Central Government Representative appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Sh, Pankaj Kumar Singh ji, has arrived in our region.”
This is the interlocutor’s first visit to the region after his appointment a few months ago. Singh reached Siliguri on Friday and will ascend the hills.
Bista, who is also the national spokesperson for the BJP, added: “We are most hopeful that he will perform his duty impartially, and take all stakeholders together towards finding a Constitutional Solution for our region. We will extend all cooperation to him, and we are confident that he will be able to bring all stakeholders together.”
Sources said that Singh was looking forward to meeting both political and social organisations from the region and was expected to stay in the region for at least five days.
“If the need arises, he could extend his stay,” said a source.
The appointment of an interlocutor is expected to benefit the BJP.
However, given the sensitivity of the issue, hill-based parties opposed to the BJP are not questioning the appointment of an interlocutor on record.
Many of the anti-BJP leaders, however, maintain that the appointment is just an eyewash before the Assembly election.
“The Centre does not need an interlocutor if it really wants to solve issues of Darjeeling,” said an anti-BJP leader.
All Darjeeling-based political parties are in favour of the Gorkhaland state.
Eight GTA Sabha members, including Binay Tamang, who is a former chairman of the board of administrators that ran the GTA, and Ajoy Edwards, the president of the Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF), had recently written to Singh stating they wanted to meet the interlocutor.
However, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is against the appointment of the interlocutor.
Mamata had on November 17 written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposing the functioning of the interlocutor’s office, appointed to look into issues of Darjeeling, Dooars and Terai.
That was the second letter of objection written by Mamata against the appointment.
“Kindly refer to my letter dated October 18, 2025 requesting you to reconsider and revoke the appointment of retired IPS officer as the interlocutor for the issues relating to the Gorkhas in Darjeeling hills, which your office had promptly acknowledged and advised Home Minister to look into (copy enclosed),” Mamata has stated in her latest letter to the Prime Minister.
The Telegraph was the only newspaper that had reported that the PM had advised the home minister to look into the complaints raised by Mamata on October 18. The report had created an uproar in the region.
Mamata had, in her second letter, said that despite the PM’s advice, “the Office of the Interlocutor under Ministry of Home Affairs, has, vide Memo dated 10th November 2025, communicated that the office of the interlocutor has already started functioning”.
“This is really shocking,” wrote Mamata and added that the “unilateral and arbitrary action of the Central government” was unconstitutional, without jurisdiction and devoid of legal sanctity.
Observers of hill politics, however, said that there was much to read between the lines in Mamata’s letter.
“Mamata seems to be building a narrative that the BJP-led Centre is looking to divide Bengal. This comes at a time when the Bengal Assembly poll bugle has already been blown,” said the observer.
The BJP Darjeeling (hills) district committee will organise a public meeting in Kurseong on January 26.