Escorted Subba back at night

KN Subba at his home  Picture by Kundan Yolmo

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, Kalimpong, May 31: Trinamul Congress leader K.N. Subba returned to his Gorubathan home at 9 in the night under police protection, eight days after he had been prevented from proceeding to his native village.

“I am happy to be back at home after a gap of five years. I would like to thank the state administration and my party colleagues for making my return possible,” Subba said over the phone from Gorubathan.

Subba, sources said, went to his Kalimpong home late at night on the advice of the police to avoid any unpleasant incident.

On May 22, Subba had tried to enter Gorubathan, in Kalimpong, during the day. But he failed as the Morcha supporters guarding the road did not budge.

Subba had to spend eight days in the house of an acquaintance close to Gorubathan, which is about 60km from Siliguri.

Subba didn’t encounter any protest yesterday.

Subba, a former councillor of the GNLF, had left Gorubathan on July 26, 2008, following pressure mounted on him by the Morcha to quit the village. He joined Trinamul in June 2012.

After Subba was stopped from entering his home on May 22, alleged Morcha supporters ransacked his ancestral house and set it ablaze on May 23.

Following the incident, police arrested GTA Sabha member from Gorubathan Chandra Yonzone. He is in judicial custody.

The Morcha launched protests to demand Yonzone’s release, but after realising that the leader would have to be in judicial custody, the party changed its demand.

Today, Subba said: “It is high time the Morcha moved away from the politics of violence and confrontation…. We should instead indulge in issue-based politics. I will continue to keep myself actively engaged in politics.”

Asked about Subba’s return to Gorubathan, Morcha vice-president Pradip Pradhan said: “We had never stopped Subba. It was the people who had stopped him for misusing the people’s money. Dawa Pakhrin returned to the hills and also floated a party and we had no problems. Opposition leaders like R.B. Rai are in the hills. Everyone is welcome, even Subash Ghisingh can return.”