GJM prez Bimal Gurung calls out to people to join 16th Foundation Day of party on October 7

Darjeeling: Bimal Gurung, president, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has given a call to everyone to join in the 16th foundation day commemoration of the party on October 7 to chalk a bright future for Terai and Dooars.

The foundation day, being held after six years, is an effort to reclaim lost political ground, opine political observers.

“I appeal to all to join in the foundation day commemorations to be held at the Darjeeling Motor stand on October 7. The Darjeeling Hills, Terai and Dooars are in search of a secure future. We will prepare the roadmap. I appeal to all the tea garden workers, hawkers, teachers and the business community to join us,” appealed Gurung.

Despite being in control of the Hills since formation in 2007 till the renewed agitation in 2017 that culminated in a 104-day-long bandh, Gurung and his party have steadily lost ground in the Darjeeling Hills, not faring well in both the GTA as well as the Panchayat elections. Gurung and his close aides had gone underground at the peak of the agitation as he was charged under the UAPA.

Missing since the violent agitation, he resurfaced in Kolkata on October 21, 2020. In Kolkata, he declared his allegiance to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and later in December, he returned to Darjeeling. Since then, GJM has been functioning as an ally of the TMC.

However, during the GTA and Panchayat polls, Gurung shunned the TMC and went ahead with the BJP but failed to get the foothold he was desperately looking for in the alliance with BJP.

Instead riding piggyback on GJM’s organisational strength, the BJP managed to wrest some seats in the Panchayat elections. Gurung declared that BJP was out to strangle regionalism and regional parties.

Now, in a bid to regain lost ground, Gurung will definitely try to attract all the disgruntled groups including tea garden workers, hawkers and contractual teachers to his party.

The foundation day commemorations on a grand scale is also aimed at rejuvenating his party workers in the runup to the Lok Sabha elections and to send home the message that GJM is still a force to reckon with.

Meanwhile, down in the plains the Kamtapur State Demand Committee (KSDC) — an umbrella organisation of 28 organisations of Rajbanshis — has demanded that the Union government immediately hold talks with Jibon Singha, the chief of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO). Incidentally, the KLO has been declared a banned outfit by the Government of India.

“In the past nine years the BJP led Union Government has done nothing. We will wait till November and launch a movement that will include bandhs, road blockades and also Rail Roko. We demand a separate Kamtapur state and inclusion of Kamtapur language in 8th Schedule of the Indian constitution” stated Jyotsna Roy, a surrendered KLO and at present with the KSDC.