Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal
Gurung and four other top party members were today invited to the
swearing-in ceremony of prime minister designate Narendra Modi and to a
private dinner later in the evening hosted by the President.
Speaking over phone from Delhi where the
GJM leaders are camped since the past few days, party assistant
secretary Binay Tamang said, “Yes, we have been invited to attend Modi’s
swearing-in ceremony as the 15th prime minister of the country at the
Rashtrapati Bhawan and we are on our way.”
It is learnt that the GJM president has
been allotted a VVIP pass and will be sitting alongside NDA alliance
members including Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif, Afghan President Hamid
Karzai and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa among several other
visiting heads of states. The remaining four GJM leaders, party general
secretary Roshan Giri and central committee leaders Jyoti Kumar Rai and
Swaraj Thapa along with Tamang will occupy the tenth row.
The dinner to be hosted subsequently by
President Pranab Mukherjee at the ‘Grey Drawing Room’ of the Rashtrapati
Bhawan will see dignitaries from Russia, Norway, the Ukraine, Nepal and
Australia, among others along with Modi’s cabinet not to forget Gurung.
“Only our party president has been invited for the President’s dinner but it is a big occasion for us nonetheless,” said Tamang.
Political observers pointed out that the
“occasion” (invitation to the ceremony and dinner) indicates the
Darjeeling hills and its people have at last been “assimilated” into the
country’s mainstream.
“Of course, the occasion is huge and a matter of pride to be invited to such a prestigious occasion.
If I am correct, this is first time that
a representative from the Darjeeling hills is participating in a world
event,” an observer said.
The GJM assistant secretary echoed
similar sentiments saying the invitation to the swearing-in ceremony and
the dinner heralded a new beginning for the hills.
“It is a fantastic feeling to be able to
be part of such a big event that is being watched by the entire world.
We are overwhelmed by the respect shown to us as such a move had never
come to pass before. We feel having close access to the prime minister
will augur well for the hills in the days to come,” said Tamang.
The GJM leader, however, refused to
comment on BJP leader Surendra Singh Ahluwalia, the new MP from
Darjeeling, on not being given a cabinet berth.
“We have nothing to say on this,” said
Tamang. The GJM, after the thumping win of the BJP candidate from
Darjeeling in the Lok Sabha election, had pinned hope on Ahluwalia
getting an important portfolio in the Cabinet to take forward the
statehood demand as the Morcha had primarily extended support to the BJP
with this objective.
The GJM delegation will return home a
couple of days after Modi’s oath-taking ceremony and organise victory
rallies to celebrate Ahluwalia’s victory.(EOIC)