Calcutta HC: Doesn’t Centre think unrest needs to be quelled quickly?

Kolkata/New Delhi: Amid the ongoing unrest in Darjeeling, the Calcutta high court on Friday wondered if the Centre did not think the agitation for a separate Gorkhaland needed to be quelled quickly, given the geopolitical importance of the area.

The court posed the query even as a Union home ministry official said the Centre is keen to hold tripartite talks with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which is spearheading the agitation for a separate Gorkhaland, and the West Bengal government for return of normalcy in Darjeeling.

The high court's poser and the Centre's stand come a day after all the Hill parties decided to continue with the indefinite shutdown, as rallies and protest marches were taken out in various parts of Darjeeling.

The situation in Darjeeling remained tense but incident-free on Friday, the 23rd day of the indefinite shutdown, which has crippled normal life in Darjeeling and neighbouring areas. “Given the geopolitical area in which it lies, doesn't the Centre think this agitation needs to be quelled immediately?" asked acting chief justice Nishita Mhatre while hearing a plea for restoration of normalcy in Darjeeling.

The query also comes amid an India-China standoff in Sikkim, which is not too far from Darjeeling. The division bench of chief justice Mhatre and justice Tapabrata Chakraborty directed the West Bengal government officials to sit with the Ministry of Home Affairs to sort out the requirements for para-military forces on the basis of ground conditions. Expressing displeasure at the state and the Centre sparring over requirement of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) in the restive Darjeeling hills, the bench observed, "The situation can improve only if both of you sit together and sort out the issues." The court asked the Centre and the state government to reach a meaningful understanding over CAPF requirement before July 11, when the matter would be heard next.

Normal life has been affected severely in Darjeeling and Kalimpong due to the ongoing indefinite shutdown enforced by the GJM and some other hill parties.