Hill talks next month: Ahluwalia

TT, Siliguri: The Centre will hold official-level talks with the Bengal government on the Darjeeling hills next month, MP and Union minister S.S. Ahluwalia said here on Wednesday.

The announcement came a day after the BJP leader met Union home minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi, along with a delegation of Gorkha leaders known to be close to the Bimal Gurung lobby.

"We discussed several issues related to the Darjeeling hills with the Union home minister on Tuesday and he said he would arrange an official-level dialogue next month," Ahluwalia said.

The BJP MP took a dig at chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Binay Tamang - Gurung's Gorkha Janmukti Morcha rival and the current chief of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) - without naming the latter. "I have always tried to resolve hill-related issues through negotiations. Last year, when we had appealed to the chief minister for talks, she did not agree and preferred to go ahead with some lame-ducks who do not have any support in Darjeeling."

Asked whether the Gorkhaland demand for will come up at next month's talks, Ahluwalia said: "There are many issues and one of them could be ST status for 11 (hill) communities. It cannot be one (Gorkhaland) subject."