Didi-GJM meet on Tue, all eyes on Hills future

Darjeeling/ Kalimpong: Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders Binoy Tamang and Anit Thapa on Tuesday is being seen by Hills people as an attempt at reconciliation between the two rival GJM factions, the other led by Bimal Gurung. Thapa is the present chairman of GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) and Tamang is the GJM president.

A senior Nabanna official said the CM agreed to have a dialogue with GJM’s Tamang faction so that differences with Gurung can be ironed out and various issues discussed for development of the Hills before the 2021 assembly polls.

Amir Basnet, a GJM youth leader, described Tuesday’s meeting to be the second one in recent times, the earlier one being attended by Tamang and Thapa when the CM was at Uttarkanya in Siliguri in September-end.

The Tamang group has been organising rallies against Gurung, who was on the run for three years since September 2017 before he surfaced in Kolkata on October 21. Gurung shifted allegiance from BJP as the party did not help in reaching his goal of Gorkhaland. Promising all support to TMC, he expressed his desire to see Mamata Banerjee win as CM for the third term in a row.

A Tamang sympathiser said: “Gurung has several pending cases, including UAPA charges, for grenade attack on Kalimpong police station and is still on the wanted list of police.”

On Sunday, the Tamang faction clarified that it will not shake hands with Gurung, who earlier headed GTA — an autonomous body formed in August 2012. Keshavraj Pokhrel, spokesperson for the Tamang group, said: “We assure Hills people that we will not share dais with Bimal Gurung. We will convey it to the Bengal government.”

Pokhrel said, “A week ago, Tamang and Thapa were invited for talks on how peace and tranquillity can be maintained and to discuss current political situation of north Bengal. In 2017, we distanced ourselves from Gurung for his policies. He absconded during the agitation and GJM supporters were jailed or forced to run away. We will not allow disturbances again.”

Bhuwan Khanal, another GJM leader of Tamang group from Kalimpong, said, “We hope that the CM will bring a solution for lasting peace and prosperity in the Hills.”

Suva Pradhan, general secretary of Gurung faction, refused to comment. “Only time will tell what will happen,” Pradhan said.