Gurung won’t meet Mamata during her Sept visit to Hills

HT,14 Sep 2016, DARJEELING: With relations between Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the state government at an all-time low, GJM has decided not to accord a welcome or meet chief minister Mamata Banerjee during her visit to the Darjeeling Hills.

Mamata will arrive at Siliguri on September 20 and will be heading straight for Kalimpong. She will be in Kalimpong till September 23 where she will attend the anniversary commemorations of different development boards, mainly the Mayal Lyang Lepcha Development Board.

Reports said that during her visit, the CM is expected to project the green light to the formation of a separate Kalimpong district by the government as the fulfillment of the aspiration of the public.

GJM supremo Bimal Gurung said, “Neither will I nor GJM will welcome the CM to the Hills. We will also not meet her.”

Relations between the two nosedived following the commemoration of the 202 nd birth anniversary of Nepali poet Acharya Bhanubhakta in Darjeeling by the state government on July 13. The programme had been attended by Pranab Mukherjee, President of India; West Bengal governor KN Tripathi; chief minister Mamata Banerjee and GTA chief Bimal Gurung.

Following the programme, Gurung alleged that he along with the Hills had suffered great insults with him not being allowed to address the gathering. He even went a step further and claimed that the state government had “hijacked” Nepali poet Bhanubhakta’s birth anniversary commemoration. During her last visit to the Hills in July 2016, Gurung and his men met CM Banerjee at the Richmond Hill Government Guest House in Darjeeling. Gurung dismissed the chances of the creation of a separate Kalimpong district. “Mamata Banerjee makes such announcements every day. None of her announcements see the light of day,” said Gurung.

The GJM threatened to intensify the Gorkhaland agitation. “We’ve sent a GJM team including general secretary Roshan Giri and assistant secretary Binay Tamang to Delhi. They are camping in Delhi. They will be fixing up an appointment with home minister Rajnath Singh. As soon as the appointment is confirmed I will leave for Delhi. We will press the home minister for Gorkhaland,” said Gurung.