Gurung thanks Swamy for tweeting in favour of Gorkhaland, ignores state BJP’s opposition

EOI, DARJEELING, 23 Apr 2015: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung made it clear on Thursday that he was not concerned with the opposition of West Bengal state BJP to the Gorkhaland demand and would pin his hopes on BJP leaders in Delhi to secure a separate state for Gorkhas.

He lauded senior BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy for taking up the Gorkhaland demand with the Centre. According to Gurung, the former cabinet minister in his Twitter handle @Swamy39, has evoked the sentimental issue of the Gorkha community of the Darjeeling hills and said, “I have written to Rajnath on steps to the formation of a Gorkha Pradesh”.

The GJM chief said so during a function organised by the Bharatiya Gorkha Janjati Sangarsh Mahasangh (BGJSM), a conglomeration of 10  communities of the hills demanding inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe list.

Talking to reporters afterwards, Gurung said he had spoken to Swamy over phone and expressed gratitude on behalf of all the people of the hills. “I just spoke to him (Swamy) in Delhi and thanked him for helping us to strengthen our demand further. The fact that Mr Swamy wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the statehood issue shows the significance he has placed on the formation of a separate state for the Indian Gorkhas. Mr Swamy told me his letter to the union home minister outlines the various steps that could be taken towards the creation of a Gorkha Pradesh,” the GJM president said.

This comes after Swamy’s visit to Darjeeling on April 14 to attend a national seminar on ‘Creation of Gorkhaland and Smaller States’ organised by the Study Forum, the GJM’s intellectual wing. Speaking at the seminar, the BJP leader had promised to take up the Gorkhaland demand with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also made a number of suggestions to the GJM on taking forward the statehood issue and he

reiterated them today in his tweets. “I am urging law minister DV Sadananda Gowda to set up a Calcutta High Court bench in Darjeeling. An additional chief secretary and DGP posts be created for the present territory,” Swamy has posted. Further, his tweet states: “I have written to Nitin Gadkari about NH 55 that connects Darjeeling to the plains which was damaged six years ago by landslides be

repaired on emergency footing. Also written to railway minister Suresh Prabha that the Darjeeling toy train be technologically upgraded with UNESCO help. Will promote tourism too.” These were some of the topics Swamy taken up at the national seminar and promised to pursue with the Centre.

Gurung said he would leave for Delhi on May 15 to thank Swamy in person and also meet other central BJP leaders to pursue the statehood demand. “It (statehood) will not happen overnight. But we will continue to do what is required to get closer to our aspiration. I will be in Delhi on May 15 or 16 and will take up the statehood issue and also the inclusion of 11 communities including one from the Dooars in the Schedule Tribe category,” he said.

When asked to comment on the Bengal BJP’s opposition to the idea of separation from Bengal, the GJM chief said, “It is their political compulsion. They will have to oppose to gain votes in the plains. However, it is the BJP leaders in Delhi who matter because it is the central government that plans policies and implements them.”