Chief minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday seeking a revocation of the Centre’s “unilateral” appointment of an interlocutor on Darjeeling, Terai and Dooars issues, saying it threatened regional peace.

Expressing “surprise and shock”, she described the decision as “inconsistent with the spirit of cooperative federalism”.

“This appointment has been made without any consultation with the Government of West Bengal, even though the issues under reference directly relate to the governance, peace, and administrative stability of the area under Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), an autonomous body under the Government of West Bengal,” the letter says.

On a day the chief minister wrote the letter to Modi, Darjeeling MP and BJP leader Raju Bista’s convoy came under a hail of stones in Majhidhura near Sukhiapokhri in Darjeeling district while he was returning from landslide-affected areas. Bista said the vehicle behind his bore the brunt.

He alleged that the attack’s timing, “following the announcement of an interlocutor for our region, is highly suspicious”.

Various groups in the Darjeeling hills have down the decades demanded statehood or autonomy as well as Sixth Schedule protections, apart from tribal status for 11 Gorkha communities.

The Centre, whose promises about a “permanent political solution” and the grant of tribal status remain unfulfilled, has appointed Pankaj Kumar Singh, a former deputy national security adviser, as the interlocutor. The move comes months before the Bengal Assembly elections.

While the BJP’s allies in the hills have welcomed the development, some others, particularly pro-Trinamool groups, have termed it a pre-poll “eyewash” to hoodwink Gorkhas.

Mamata’s letter to Modi refers to the GTA’s formation through tripartite talks inJuly 2011.

“(The) GTA was created to ensure socio-economic, infrastructural, educational, cultural and linguistic developments of the hill areas, while safeguarding the ethnic identity of the Gorkhas and promoting peaceful co-existence among all communities, a hallmark of the unity and harmony of the hills,” it says.

It argues that the Centre’s latest, unilateral move on a “sensitive” matter is not in the interests of peace and harmony, and says any decision on the Gorkhas must be made in consultation with the state government.

“I would, therefore, request you to kindly reconsider and revoke this appointment order issued without prior and due consultation with the Government of West Bengal,” Mamata has written.

A political observer said: “The chief minister’s letter hints that Trinamool is set to exert pressure on the BJP ahead of the polls by flagging the issue of divisive politics, considering the intense statewide sentiments against any further division of Bengal.”

He added: “It would be interesting to see how the state BJP leadership responds, as the party had supported the resolution (against any further division of Bengal) in August last year in the Assembly.”

The BJP has been speaking of a “permanent political solution” for the hills since 2009, when it registered the first of its four consecutive wins from the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat.

“In the hills and in north Bengal as a whole, the BJP played the polarisation card during the 2016 and 2021 Assembly elections, too,” a Siliguri-based veteran politician said.

“This time, Trinamool is desperate to thwart its principal contender from polarising voters on identity issues, and the appointment of an interlocutor could be an important issue during the campaign, especially in the hills, Terai and Dooars.”

The CPM and the Congress joined Trinamool in opposing the appointment of theinterlocutor.

Shanta Chhetri, president of Trinamool’s Darjeeling district (hills) committee, urged hill residents to introspect and decide who had done more for them, the Centre or the state government.

“The chief minister has stood by the people during natural disasters, offering financial aid and employment to the affected families. The people should judge who has truly delivered,” she said.

CPM Darjeeling district secretary Saman Pathak called the Centre’s move a “political gimmick”. “When the entire region, including the hills, Terai and Dooars, is suffering from natural calamities, this is hardly the time for political theatrics,” he said.

Congress district president Subin Bhowmik said the announcement was a “lollypop” dangled before every election “to mislead the people of the hills”.

In a social media post, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya questioned Mamata’s move while describing Darjeeling, Dooars and Terai as “regions which are the pride of India, and an integral part of Bengal”.

Additional reporting by Bireswar Banerjee