Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet Binoy Tamang, president of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Binoy Tamang) who is currently in charge of administration of Darjeeling on Tuesday. The meeting will take place 12 days after fugitive GJM leader Bimal Gurung, an advocate of the separate state of Gorkhaland in Darjeeling, resurfaced in Kolkata and swore allegiance to Trinamool.
The meeting is set for 3 pm at the state secretariat Nabanna. GJM (BT) general secretary Anit Thapa will also attend. They will leave Darjeeling for Kolkata tomorrow.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for the meeting a week ago, according to a GJM (BT) release, to discuss “how peace and tranquility can be maintained in the hills” and also the current political situation.
But what has prompted the meeting is unease and tension in the hills of Darjeeling ever since Bimal Gurung resurfaced in Kolkata on October 22. He has also declared change of loyalty from BJP to Trinamool. This, he said, is because the BJP had not delivered on its promises while Mamata Banerjee, said Gurung, “has always kept her commitments”.
Trinamool’s political rivals at once demanded clarification from Mamata Banerjee on her position on Gorkhaland. But Ms Banerjee has not said a word. Only Trinamool had issued a tweet on Oct 22 welcoming Gurung’s decision to break away from the BJP-led NDA.
The GJM leader is a fugitive from law for the last three years. He disappeared from Darjeeling in October 2027 after months of violence that culminates in the death of a police officer Amitava Mallik.
Gurung is reported to have 120-plus cases against him including murder and sedition. There is a lookout notice for him as well.
Mr Gurung’s return to Kolkata has spread unease among sections of people in the hills. There have been protests against Gurung’s possible return to Darjeeling almost every day. GJM (BT) supporters worry his return may prompt a return to violence.
After Gurung went underground, the faction of GJM (Binoy Tamang) was wooed by Mamata Banerjee to ally with her government and take charge of a Board of Administrators for Darjeeling Hills” with Benoy Tamang as chairman and Anit Thapa as vice chairman. Both have the rank of Minister of State in the West Bengal govt.
A possible division of the state — divided first during the British rule and then during Independence – is an emotive issue in Bengal. Mamata Banerjee has vowed not to allow.
The matter is expected to get a political spin ahead of next year’s elections in the state.
Bengal BJP’s Sayantan Bose has questioned Mamata Banerjee’s plans when the BJP and the Prime Minister had not conceded to the Gorkhaland demand. “Does it mean that, to stay in power, Mamata Banerjee has decided to divide Bengal?” asked Mr Bose.
In the press conference on 22 October, Mr Gurung had said that he wished to see Mamata Banerjee as Chief Minister again and “will do my best to get her all the seats in North Bengal in the 2021 elections”.
