Siliguri, Aug 21 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to attend a series of programmes in West Bengal’s Siliguri on Friday, with border security and awareness about the country’s new criminal laws on the agenda, officials said.
Shah is scheduled to visit the SSB Frontier Headquarters in Siliguri around 11.15 am, and unveil various infrastructure projects. He will also participate in a traditional ‘Bara Khana’ with SSB personnel.
He will then visit an exhibition on the three new criminal laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — at Kawakhali Ground around 2.30 pm.
The three laws came into force on July 1, 2024, replacing the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act.
The exhibition, titled ‘Five Pillars: Transformed Justice System’, will be held till August 26 to familiarise people with the new criminal justice framework, officials said.
Shah is also scheduled to address a public meeting after visiting the exhibition. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari will accompany him.
His visit assumes significance given the city’s strategic location near the borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, and the importance of the Siliguri Corridor, popularly known as the “Chicken’s Neck”, which connects the northeastern states with the rest of the country.
The home minister is also scheduled to attend security-related meetings during his three-day visit.
A high-level border security review meeting is expected to be held on Saturday, with a focus on coordination among the BSF, SSB, intelligence agencies and the state authorities.
He is also scheduled to meet public representatives from the Darjeeling hills on Saturday to discuss a “permanent political solution” to the longstanding issues of the Gorkha and other communities, officials said.
The hills have for decades witnessed demands for a separate state of Gorkhaland. The erstwhile Left Front government had sought to address the issue by setting up the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), while the subsequent TMC administration established the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).
Shah, during his pre-poll rallies, had assured the hill communities of a permanent political solution, raising expectations of greater political and economic stability in the region.
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung and its general secretary Roshan Giri are expected to attend the meeting. State MoS for Finance and Transport Anandamoy Barman is also likely to be present at the meeting.
Shah arrived at the Bagdogra airport in Siliguri on Thursday evening. PTI SMY SOM
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