Gurung rails at state terror
Darjeeling, March 17: Bimal Gurung
today said the Mamata Banerjee’s government could kill him like Maoist
leader Kishen was gunned down by joint anti-rebel forces in West
Midnapore.
Gurung was speaking about alleged “state terror” during the hill agitation last year.
“They can kill me like Kishen. This is not an impossible thing. There is no faith in Mamata Banerjee, DM or SP.”
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief, however, said he was not afraid of the possibility.
“They
(administration) have already removed my security despite me holding a
cabinet minister rank. I do not need security as the people of
Darjeeling are my security. They will walk beside me for my security,”
Gurung said.
Gurung admitted that they could not take the last phase of the Gorkhaland agitation to the logical end.
“In politics there
are ups and downs and unlike the Left Front government, the present
government unleashed terror during that agitation. We did go for a
prolonged agitation and the public also wanted me to continue with the
strike but I had to think of the schoolchildren, the business community
and other people after sometime,” he said.
“There was also a
possibility of the agitation getting bloody and I did not want such a
situation and hence we had to turn the agitation around.”
The Morcha has
joined hands with the BJP for the Lok Sabha elections because the
national party supports the creation of smaller states.
Gurung reiterated
that the BJP, which had written in its manifesto in 2009 that the party
would “sympathetically” consider the demand of the Gorkhas, had pledged
to continue supporting the demands of the Gorkhas.
S.S. Ahluwalia, the BJP candidate from Darjeeling, will arrive here on March 19.
“S.S. Ahluwalia
will hold a meeting with BJP leaders as soon as he reaches Bagdogra on
March 19. He will proceed for Darjeeling around 2pm. A cavalcade of 200
vehicles will go from the hills to receive him,” said Binay Tamang,
assistant secretary of the Morcha.
Source: The Telegraph