The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has criticised the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, accusing it of ignorance regarding the current administrative situation in the Darjeeling hills.

The hill body's reaction comes after a recent statement by Nityanand Rai, the Union minister of state for home affairs, who, while responding in the Lok Sabha to
questions raised by Trinamool Congress MP Bapi Haldar, had said that all the elected members of the GTA had resigned in 2017.

Responding to the claim, GTA public relations officer S.P. Sharma on Thursday questioned the Centre’s seriousness in addressing issues related to the Darjeeling hills.

“We would like to question whether the Centre and the ministry of home affairs are sincere about resolving the problems of the people in the Darjeeling hills. They do not even seem to have the correct information that an elected GTA board has been functioning since 2022,” Sharma said at a news meet in Siliguri on Thursday.

He questioned whether Rai was unaware or had been misinformed about the existence of the elected body.

In his written reply to Parliament on March 24, Rai cited the absence of elected GTA members and repeated requests from Gorkha leaders, leading to the home ministry convening three tripartite meetings — on October 7, 2020, October 12, 2021, and
April 3, 2025.

Sharma termed the situation “unfortunate,” especially in the light of claims by certain political representatives that the Centre was actively working to ensure security in the strategically important “Chicken’s Neck” region and address the concerns of hill residents.

“In reality, it reflects the Centre’s lack of awareness. They appear to have little understanding of the current situation in the hills,” he said.

He also raised questions about the role of Raju Bista, the BJP MP of Darjeeling.

“We would also like to ask if the MP from Darjeeling, who has been elected from the seat twice since 2019, had properly informed the Centre about the GTA,” said Sharma.

In the hills, the GTA Sabha members resigned in 2017, following the Gorkhaland movement. The Bengal government then appointed Binay Tamang as the chairman of the board of administrators in the same year.

On June 26, 2022, the GTA elections were held. The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, headed by Anit Thapa, which is also an ally of Trinamool, came to power.