REALITY CHECK ON GJM’S SUPPORT WITHDRAWL FROM NDA ALLIANCE

6:36 PM

•

Politics

In another twist of events in already disturbed Darjeeling hill politics, Binoy Tamang, Chairman of West Bengal Government’s temporarily appointed GTA/Board of Administration, Darjeeling hills, announced GJMM’s withdrawal of support from BJP led NDA Alliance.

BJP had succeeded in winning West Bengal Darjeeling MP seat twice in 2009 and 2014 with the help of the then Gorkha JanMukti Morcha(GJMM) led by Bimal Gurung. However, the regional hill party has been on a roller coaster ride within the past one year. With Mamata Bannerjee led West Bengal Govt. forcing Bengali as a mandatory language in the hills, protest erupted and it turned into a Nationwide movement for Gorkhaland. With immense pressure and threat Gurung had to leave Darjeeling. Benefitting from his absence in the hills, Bengal Government succeeded in luring Binay Tamang and Anit Thapa and hence Binay, once Bimal Gurung’s right hand men, and his team backstabbed Gurung and joined hands with Trinamul Congress. They also had to face huge backlashes from public which still continues in the hills.

A statement released yesterday by GJMM(led by Bimal Gurung) has clarified that GJMM has been a constituent of the NDA since 2009, and will continue to remain the integral part of the NDA alliance. With all the twists and turns in the hill party, state seems hell bent on breaking Gorkha’s unity, however, public at large still support GJMM led by Bimal Gurung.

Binoy and his team are only seen as seasonal and temporary politicians intending to reap benefits out of the current situation in the hills by betraying the aspirations of the community in the name of development. It is reported that Binoy has managed to gain few local politicians and public support using state machinery and putting immense pressure on them.

“If GTA election is held now, Binoy or Anit will be thrown out” said an angry local Gorkhaland supporter. He is also alleged of distributing loads of cash to garner public support. “People will accept cash or food they distribute, but, we will never support Binoy and Anit because they have betrayed our community” said Sarad, a villager with grim face.“If Binoy or any of his men or TMC candidates contests MP Election, they will lose their deposit” said another person.

With GJMM divided into two fractions, public hurt and disheartened, it will be interesting to see how Long Binoy Tamang’s political career lasts.

Via Gorkha Voice

READ MORE

Binay Tamang faction Gorkha Janmukti Morcha quits NDA Alliance

7:44 AM

•

Politics

After accusing the BJP of betraying the trust of the Gorkhas, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) pulled out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on 24 March.

As reported by The Indian Express, GJM was upset with the statement of West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh that his party only had an electoral alliance with GJM.

GJM organising chief LM Lama said, “The claim made by the BJP, leader of NDA, that GJM is a friend and a constituent of the NDA and the slogan of PM Modi that the dream of the Gorkhas is my dream have all been exposed by the statement of the Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, who stated that the BJP only had an electoral alliance with GJM and that there was no agreement for a common political resolution. This statement makes it amply clear that the BJP is neither sympathetic nor sincere towards the Gorkhas,” The Indian Express reported.



Lama went on to say that it is well-known that GJM gave away the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat to the BJP in the 2009 and the 2014 Lok Sabhaelections. In 2009, GJM supported BJP nominee Jaswant Singh despite being unhappy with his performance. In spite of that the party supported BJP nominee SS Ahuluwalia in 2014 from the same seat.

Talking about how GJM has helped BJP in West Bengal, Lama told The Indian Express, “Darjeeling has been the political gateway to Bengal for BJP and this has been possible only because of GJM. For so many years the people had hoped that our issues would be addressed and resolved. However, BJP has only betrayed the people time and again. It is because of BJP that the hills of Darjeeling are today enveloped in an environment of mistrust and political disturbance.”

Talking about how GJM has not delivered on its promises, Lama spoke about the over 100-day long bandh. “Thirteen precious lives were lost during the 104-day long bandh. Hundreds were put in jail. Yet, neither the BJP MP of Darjeeling, nor the government in Delhi spoke a word on the issue. The home minister assured tripartite talks within 15 days of GJM withdrawing the bandh. It’s been more than six months now and the home minister has done nothing to redeem his promise.”

He went on to tell The Indian Express, “While the previous leadership of GJM worked as an alliance partner of the NDA, the new leadership has no contact or alliance with the NDA. As such, GJM under the leadership of Binay Tamang has nothing to do with the NDA.”

READ MORE

Bimal Gurung faction GJM Press release on quitting Alliance with BJP

11:42 PM

•

Press Release

Bimal Gurung faction has released a press release denying Binay Tamang's  recent statement, claiming to be from GJM, that  Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has quit the NDA with BJP.

Here is the Press release:

A statement released by Binoy Tamang, the West Bengal government appointed GTA Chairman of the Board of Administrators, that Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has quit the National Democratic Alliance is ludicrous, and does not reflect the official GJM stand.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has been a constituent of the NDA since 2009, and we will continue to remain an integral part of the NDA.

I request all our party members to forewarn the people, and let the public and media be aware that any statement made by Binay Tamang, claiming to be from GJM, should not be given any credence. He is a West Bengal government employee, and does not represent the people of Darjeeling, nor the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

He may, if he so desires, release statements on behalf of the government he is serving - West Bengal, or the party he is serving - TMC, but he has no business whatsoever issuing statements on behalf of GJM, from which we have removed him on September 1, 2017 itself.

Bimal Gurung
President, Central Committee
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha

READ MORE

हामी जनतालाई भ्रष्टचारमुक्त शाषण दिनेछौँ – विनय तामाङ

9:23 AM

•

Politics

करोडपति ठेकादार ‘ब्ल्याक लिस्ट’ मा समावेश

डी.के.वाइबा, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ,  23 मार्च। ‘हामी जनतालाई भ्रष्टचारमुक्त शाषण दिनेछौँ’ उक्त कुरा जीटीए बोर्ड अफ् एडमिनिस्ट्रेसनका अध्यक्ष विनय तामाङले भनेका हुन्। यहाँको डा. ग्राह्मस होम्स स्थित दुईवटा विकास कार्यहरूको उद्घाटन कार्यक्रमलाई सम्बोधन गर्दै तामाङले जीटीएलाई भ्रष्टचार मुक्त बनाउने दाबी गरेका हुन्। ‘हामीलाई विकास कार्यमा प्रतिशत खाँदैनौँ, तर जनतालाई गुणस्तरीय कार्य गरेर सुविधा दिनेछौँ’ विनय तामाङले भने। कार्यक्रमलाई सम्बोधन गर्ने क्रममा उनले जनतालाई विकास कार्यको सुविधा दिन अनि विकास कार्यलाई तिव्रता दिनका निम्ति कालेबुङ ईञ्जीनियरिङ विभागलाई फराकिलो पार्दै खण्डस्तरीय ईञ्जिनियरिङ विभाग स्थापना गर्ने जीटीए वोर्डको समिक्षा वैठकमा निर्णय लिएको पनि जानकारी दिएका छन्।

‘जीटीएले खण्डस्तरीय ईञ्जीनियरिङ विभाग गठन गर्नेछ। प्रत्येक खण्डमा विकास कार्यलाई तिव्रता दिन यसो गरिएको हो। यो कार्य आगामी महिनाको पहिलो तारिखदेखि लागु हुनेछ’ तामाङले अझ भने। उनले उक्त खण्ड स्तरीय विभागले प्रत्येक विकास कार्यहरूको साप्ताहिक समिक्षा रिपोर्ट जीटीएलाई पठाउनुपर्ने पनि निर्देश दिएका छन्।

यसक्रममा उनले विकास कार्यलाई तिव्रता दिएर जनतालाई छिटो सुविधा दिनका निम्ति ठेकादारहरूलाई पनि निर्धारित समय सिमाभित्र सबै कार्यहरू समाप्त गर्नुपर्ने निर्देश दिएका छन्। काम नगर्ने ठेकादारहरूलाई आफुहरूले कार्वाही सुरु गरेको भन्दै एकजना करोडपति ठेकादारलाई सही काम नगरेको कारण ‘ब्ल्याक लिस्ट’ मा समावेश गरिएको पनि जानकारी दिएका छन्। उनले डेलोमा सम्पन्न जीटीएको समिक्षा वैठकमा विभिन्न कार्यहरूको समिक्षा भएको जानकारी दिँदै आगामी वर्षहरूमा हुने कार्यहरूको खाका तयारी गर्ने कार्य गरेको पनि जानकारी दिएका छन्।

तामाङले आज डा. ग्राह्मस होम्स परिसरमा निर्माण गरिएको प्राथमिक स्वास्थ्य केन्द्र अनि स्व. मङ्गलसिंह राजपुत स्मृति सामुदायिक भवनको उद्घाटन गरेका छन्। जीटीए अधिनस्थ रहेको स्वास्थ्य एवम् परिवार कल्याण विभागद्वारा मोठ 12 लाख 77 हजार 8 सय 57 रूपियाँको लागतमा प्राथमिक स्वास्थ्य केन्द्रको निर्मण गरिएको छ भने कालेबुङ अभियन्ता विभागद्वारा 1 करोड 60 लाखको लागतमा सामुदायिक भवन निर्माण गरिएको छ।

दुवैवटा विकास कार्यहरूको जीटीए अध्यक्ष विनय तामाङले रिबन काटेर उद्घाटन गरेका हुन्। यसक्रममा उनले अहिलेघरी प्रत्येक दिननै प्रत्येक ठाउँमा जनताको विकास कार्यहरूको सुविधा उपभोग गर्न पाइरहेको दाबी पनि गरेका छन्। उक्त उद्घाटन समारोहमा जीटीए उपाध्यक्ष अनित थापा, कार्यकारी सदस्य सञ्चवीर सुब्बा, मुख्य सचिव सुब्रतो विश्वास, सचिव सी. मुरुगण आदि समेत उपस्थित रहेका थिए।

READ MORE

Message from Gorkha Janmukti Morcha President Shree Bimal Gurung

5:30 PM

•

Video

To all my Gorkha Family,who have been working and waiting so patiently for the past 8 to 9 months.

The news of my arrest which went viral yesterday has caused panic and fear,I want to assure them ,I am safe and secure

I carry the Idea of Gorkhaland in my very being.

Rest assured that I am doing everything to achieve Gorkhaland. I cannot even conceive of our future without Gorkhaland .I have taken a vow to realise this dream and until  that is met nothing can stop me.

I am safe in my own place and I want our people to know that we are following the righteous and lawful path towards working for the Gorkha community and Gorkhaland.
A heartfelt request to my Gorkha Family, please do not get agitated and react to these unfounded rumours of my arrest.This is just a ploy to incite us and trap the true Gorkhas.

READ MORE

Bimal Gurung's career finished - Anit Thapa

7:17 AM

•

Politics

‘His career finished… impossible for Bimal Gurung to make comeback’ - Anit Thapa

The political career of Bimal Gurung, leader of one faction of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), seems to be hanging in the balance in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict as there are now very few straws left for him to clutch at — he either has to return to Darjeeling and surrender before the police or continue hiding. Several GJM leaders, once loyal to Gurung, allegedly made calls to the rival GJM faction led by its president Binay Tamang, expressing their wish to join the fold. The rival faction is now commonly called the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Binay Tamang) camp.

General secretary of the rival faction Anit Thapa said that he has been receiving calls from GJM leaders and cadres in Gurung faction after the verdict. “We have been receiving calls the whole day. I won’t take any names, but some of the calls we have received are from some big GJM leaders. They now want to join us. We have decided to induct all the leaders and GJM cadres who want to join this faction. At the end of the day, this is the same party, just with different thought process and leaders. They had supported Bimal Gurung all this while, it was an emotional connect, and we understand their feelings,’’ he said. Thapa added that the people have, over the past few months, been turning more towards their faction as the only alternative that could fulfil their dreams of a separate Gorkhaland. “This verdict has swayed the situation in our favour. The sympathisers they (Gurung and his group) had among the public, too, now have no option. This works to our benefit and is good news for us,’’ he said.

Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) spokesperson Neeraj Zimba said that for all practical purposes, Gurung is finished in the Hills. “Legally, there is only one option left for him now. To return to Darjeeling, surrender before the police and face trials for all the cases lodged against him or continue to remain underground. There are so many cases against him that politically I think it is impossible for him to make a comeback. Bimal Gurung may be synonymous with the GJM, but he is not synonymous with the Gorkhaland movement, which is a people’s movement. The ground reality is that Gurung’s supporters and sympathisers are few at this point in time. Even during the agitation, he was physically absent,’’ said Zimba.

Talking about the Gorkhaland agitation, Zimba said the Supreme Court verdict has taken the wind out of the movement’s sails. “At this present moment, as things stand, a separate Gorkhaland state does not seem possible. But, we are still looking for a viable political solution to the problem of Darjeeling,’’ he said.

The verdict is a shot in the arm for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who did not react to it. It has unequivocally placed her in the strongest position in north Bengal. Mamata’s main rival in the Hills, the GJM, has irrevocably split and she has placed Binay Tamang at its helm.

For the BJP, which has been slowly making inroads into the state’s political space, the verdict is a spoiler. “S S Ahluwalia (BJP’s Darjeeling MP) had extended his full support to Gurung. We will have to see what political stand he will take in the Hills after this. The verdict also most definitely affects the BJP’s chances in the Hills as Gurung’s GJM was their main ally. A vacuum has been created and other players will come to the fore now,’’ said Zimba. The climb-down for the Hill parties has been so rapid that none of them are even now demanding a tripartite dialogue with the state and the Centre any longer, he said. “There are bipartite talks now. There will no longer be tripartite talks,’’ added Zimba, whose own party had been demanding the involvement of the Centre along with the other political parties.

Political analysts in the Hills opined that the verdict has thrown the people “into a great deal of uncertainty”.

“Everything will now depend on how the Centre plays its cards. Will they continue to back Gurung? Or will they give him up? If they do give him up and not support the cause of Gorkhaland, there will be no sympathy left for the BJP in the Hills. This will not only affect the districts of the Darjeeling Hills but its implications will be seen across Jalpaiguri all the way to Cooch Behar, where the BJP has been making inroads,’’ said analyst and Darjeeling resident Upendra Pradhan.

Pradhan added that the vacuum in the Darjeeling hills was also due to the fact that the Binay Tamang faction did not really command huge support from the locals. “The faction is seen as being installed by the state government. The reality here is that nobody likes the TMC or anybody who is seen hobnobbing with the Bengal government. Having said that, the 15 development boards set up by Mamata Banerjee is now likely to work in her favour more than ever unless the BJP makes the right moves,’’ said Pradhan.

[Via: Indian Express]

READ MORE

Bimal Gurung May be arrested any time soon

8:33 PM

•

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha

BREAKING :- Bimal Gurung May be arrested any time soon ...

Supreme Court dismisses Bimal Gurung’s plea to transfer cases outside West Bengal - The court also lifted the stay on his arrest.

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung’s petition to transfer the cases against him outside West Bengal, and lifted the stay on his arrest, PTI reported. “It cannot be said to be a case of individual persecution by state,” the court observed.

Setback for Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader BimalGurung: BimalGurung may be arrested anytime as SC lifts protection from arrest. Court also dismisses his plea to transfer his cases outside West Bengal.
"No case of individual persecution", says SC.

The court’s decision comes as a big boost to the West Bengal government, which has been seeking Gurung’s arrest since violence broke out in Darjeeling in June after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced her decision to make Bengali compulsory in state-run schools. Though Banerjee had said that hill districts will be exempted from the rule, the GJM began an agitation that soon turned into a revival of the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

Soon after, Gurung and a few of his aides went into hiding as the police had filed cases against them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The party too split after the Gurung-led faction insisted on continuing the shutdown in the hills, which crippled life in the region for months.

In January, Gurung told reporters in New Delhi that he was ready for talks with Mamata Banerjee and that his party was willing to negotiate and resolve the standoff with the state government and take the discussion on Gorkha identity forward.

Via TheDC

READ MORE

Bengal police staged encounter, planted AK47s to frame me:Bimal Gurung

7:48 AM

•

West Bengal

Pramod Giri, HT,  Oct 18, 2017, Kolkata: The Bengal government “staged” the encounter in which police sub-inspector Amitava Malik was killed in Darjeeling on October 13, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung alleged in an audio message released on Wednesday. Gurung however did not mention Malik’s name.

Neither he nor any of his men were present at the spot where Malik was shot and the AK47 rifles and other weapons were all planted, alleged Gurung. He said the rifles were part of the cache of arms earlier seized from members of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) in north Bengal.

The government claimed after the incident that a large cache of arms and ammunitions were recovered from a training camp of the Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP). In the audio message, Gurung alleged the encounter was “staged” by the Bengal government to tarnish his image and corner him politically.

Gurung said, “It is a conspiracy hatched by the state government and the killing of the police officer was also a part of larger conspiracy.”

Gurung, who is in hiding for almost four months, said: “Neither did we have a camp nor did we carry arms and ammunition. The administration is doing this so that I cannot appear before the people of Darjeeling. But no conspiracy can stop me from reaching out to them.”

He reiterated that he will appear before his supporters on October 30.

“The weapons police claimed to have recovered from a GLP camp were planted. These were recovered from KLO militants when they surrendered. They weapons were planted to defame me and finish the Gorkhaland movement. The Bengal police is conspiring to kill me,” said Gurung who is facing serious charges under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Without naming Benoy Tamang and Anit Thapa, the two expelled GJM leaders who are now heading the board of administrators of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, Gurung said, “Two or three people are trying to sell the entire Gorkha community but I will not let them succeed.”

READ MORE