Centre on Darjeeling unrest: ‘Mamata has set quiet hills on fire’

The Centre blamed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the unrest in Darjeeling.

New Delhi, July 22: It's unlikely that normalcy would return soon in restive Darjeeling and its neighbouring areas in West Bengal, as the Centre has ruled out chances of talks between all the concerned parties till "peace has been restored in the region".

The Narendra Modi government on Friday also blamed the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the state for the present unrest in the hills.

The Centre said WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is responsible for the unrest in Darjeeling. It added that her attitude and handling of the issue has "set the quiet hills on fire".

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told the Lok Sabha that tri-partite talks involving the Centre, the state and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) can be held only after peace has been restored in the region.

He made the statement after Mohammed Salim of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) raised the issue in the Zero Hour, accusing Banerjee of trying to impose her will on language and other governance affairs on the people in the hilly region.

"You cannot declare a war on the people," he said, adding that the state's food minister had threatened to stop supply of essential provisions to Darjeeling if the protests continued.

The central government cannot remain quiet, he said, asking it to call a tri-partite meeting.

"You must tell the CM to work as per the Constitution," he told the Centre. Themembers of the TMC, which is in power in the state, were not in the House.

Kumar said the situation in Darjeeling was getting more serious. "There must be peace. If the quiet hills have been set on fire, then the reason is the Chief Minister's attitude and her handling of the issue," he said.

OneIndia News