Mamata set for Sikkim test

Mamata arrives in Siliguri on Thursday from Darjeeling. Picture by Passang Yolmo

AVIJIT SINHA, TT,  Mar 16, 2018, Siliguri: Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will meet her Sikkim counterpart Pawan Kumar Chamling in Siliguri on Friday to try and chart a new course after months of strained ties between the neighbouring states.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of a war of words between the political leaderships of the two states over the Gorkhaland agitation.

The talks are significant also because of the issues likely to be taken up, such as recent problems in the movement of commercial vehicles stemming from tighter checks, trade and tourism - sectors where the two states' fortunes are interlinked.

"It seems Mamata wants to improve relations with Sikkim. One of the prime reasons is the sizeable Gorkha population in Sikkim. Taking them into confidence can help her manage the Darjeeling hills better," said an observer.

The relationship soured after the agitation for statehood started in the Darjeeling hills last June and Chamling wrote to Union home minister Rajnath Singh backing the Gorkhaland demand. Bengal ministers had decried the move as "interference".

Matters went further downhill when Bengal police conducted raids in Sikkim following tip-offs that Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung had taken shelter there with some associates while in hiding. Gurung faces cases of inciting violence during the statehood protests.

Some Morcha workers were arrested in the raid. But Sikkim police alleged their Bengal counterparts did not inform them about the swoop. "A key objective now is to prevent Bimal Gurung from taking shelter in Sikkim," said a source.

Speaking in Darjeeling last month, Mamata had said Sikkim benefited whenever there was turmoil in the hills.

A retired bureaucrat based in Sikkim said given the contiguity of the two states, both must "settle their differences".

"From trade to tourism, we are inter-dependant. The recent problems over commercial vehicles could affect both sides if not resolved ahead of the summer tourist season. The two states have been an integrated tourist circuit," the ex-official said.

Debasish Maitra, president of the Eastern Himalaya Travel and Tour Operators' Association, said he had "#high hopes (from the Mamata-Chamling meeting)". "If Sikkim and Bengal can work together for tourism, it will benefit stakeholders in both states."