Gurung plan for Delhi trip

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling: Bimal Gurung said on Tuesday that he would not come out in public in Darjeeling "immediately" but would go to Delhi to take up the cases of his supporters.

His comments came a day after the Supreme Court passed an order restraining police from resorting to any "coercive action" against the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief, who had last made a public appearance at Ging on August 15.

In an audio message posted by Roshan Giri on the WhatsApp group of supporters, Gurung claimed he had got a "15-day stay" even though the apex court order only mentions "no coercive steps shall be taken against the petitioner".

"There is a 15-day stay. I need to work legally. There are many cases against our supporters, some of whom are on the run or in jail. I need to get relief for them also. In these 15 days, I will go to Delhi to take up this issue in the Supreme Court," Gurung said.

"I will definitely come out in public, but many people will be unable to come and work with me. I do not want to come out alone but will work to get relief for the others, too. I appeal to all to have patience," he added.

Binay Tamang, who had rebelled against Gurung during the statehood strike, on Tuesday questioned the source of the Morcha chief's funds to hire some of the top lawyers of the country to represent him in the court.

"As far as we know, Bimal Gurung has 93 police cases against him and he has got some relief in one of these cases. But the lawyers he has engaged are some of the top ones in the country. They charge huge fees, some of their clients are multi-millionaires. We want to know what the source of Bimal Gurung's funds is. The state should check if he has any income tax file and if he has one, what is there in it," said Tamang, after he attended the fourth round of bipartite talks at Pintail Village.

Told about Gurung's plans to go to Delhi, Tamang said: "Bagdogra is the nearest airport here and he should go to Delhi from here and not through Nepal to prove himself."