BJP's Saumitra Khan welcomes interlocutor appointment for Gorkha issues in Darjeeling Hills

"Siliguri is in the chicken's neck, so appointment by the Government of India of an interlocutor for the issues relating to the Darjeeling Hills is a welcome decision," Khan said.

He visited the hospital in Siliguri to meet BJP MP Khagen Murmu. He condemned the attack on the BJP MP and said that the mentality of the TMC is to make the "poor poorer".

Speaking to ANI, the BJP MP said, "The attack is condemnable. BJP MP Khagen Murmu is fine now. He is receiving good treatment here. In North Bengal, medical facilities are dismal. The mentality of the TMC is to make the poor poorer, but the BJP MP Khagen Murmu went there to provide relief to the people affected by floods. BJP will carry out its agenda in Bengal, and SIR will soon be conducted. In Kashmir, people used to say Article 370 won't be abrogated but it was done."

Earlier, CM Mamata Banerjee expressed shock at the appointment of an interlocutor for issues related to the Gorkhas in the Darjeeling Hills by the Government of India.

"Here goes my letter to the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, communicating my surprise and shock at the unilateral appointment by the Government of India of an interlocutor for the issues relating to Gorkhas in Darjeeling Hills, Tarai and Dooars regions of West Bengal," Mamata Banerjee said in a post on X.

Earlier, BJP leader Anirban Ganguly claimed that the alleged assault on the BJP MP Khagen Murmu and the BJP MLA Sankar Ghosh at Bamandanga in Jalpaiguri's Nagrakata on October 6 was very "pre-planned" and called for a deeper investigation into the incident.

The attack happened when both leaders were visiting the North Bengal region to oversee relief and rescue operations amid a landslide and flood situation. This has sparked a political row in the State, with the BJP taking aim at the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). (ANI)