Bimal Gurung has raised the bogey of Gorkhaland once again while accusing Mamata Banerjee

Kalimpong, Sept. 26: Bimal Gurung has raised the bogey of Gorkhaland once again while accusing Mamata Banerjee of step-motherly treatment towards the hills in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Gurung’s charge is an echo of the pressure tactics that the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha frequently adopts to remind the government about its clout in the hills.

The Morcha president also said the chief minister had committed a “sin” by paying a cursory visit to Kurseong the day after the quake on September 18.

Mamata was in Kurseong only for five minutes before she headed to Sikkim and “we felt hurt”, he said. “This is a sin against us,” he told party workers and supporters at the Town Hall here today. He also added that such an attitude was the reason for demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland.

This is not the first time after the signing of the tripartite agreement for the formation of GTA on July 18 that Gurung had announced that Gorkhaland was far from being dead and buried. He had often claimed that the tripartite agreement mentioned that the GTA was being set up without dropping the statehood demand.

“The Morcha president will use the Gorkhaland card as a double-edged sword—against his opponents without (outside the party) and irritants within as and when the need arises,” said an observer.

In fact, in his address, Gurung reminded those “who were only angling for contracts” not to forget that he had not personally signed on the GTA agreement, suggesting he was not greedy for power and would nip any sort of greed in the bud.

During the last few days, Gurung toured the sub-division extensively, sometimes trekking for miles to see the extent of damage in villages caused by the earthquake. “We will form a relief committee. It will go to the villages and provide relief to the affected people,” he said. The panel, he said, will be formed after a meeting of the party’s central committee in the next few days.

The Morcha president also accused his party’s zonal committee members of non-performance. “It is not only the job of the SDOs and BDOs to report the damage. It is the responsibility of every individual to collect information and submit it to the party’s subdivisional and central committees.” 

TT