GNLF sights on Morcha 'confusion'

Mahendra Chhetri

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT Jan 13, Siliguri: The GNLF has ridiculed recent remarks of Bimal Gurung that he was open for a dialogue with the Bengal government and said, the presence of multiple lobbies in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha will create confusion among people in hills.

It can also affect the ongoing initiative to restore peace and normality in the hills and can even affect the bipartite dialogue process.

"On August last year, we had taken the initiative to initiate a dialogue with the state when the indefinite strike was on, to end the deadlock. The state responded and a number of rounds of talks have been held so far. Now if Bimal Gurung suddenly wants to hold talks with the state, we feel the entire process might suffer a setback and apprehend that the earlier meetings and decisions might even turn out to be futile. Not to mention the fresh confusion that would prevail among the hill population," said Mahendra Chhetri, vice-president, GNLF, on Saturday.

Gurung on Thursday had resurfaced in Delhi, after a gap of almost six months, and said that he is open for a dialogue with the state and that he is not against the people of Bengal.

His remarks have invited criticism from the Binay Tamang camp of Morcha, who have labelled him as a puppet of BJP. The GNLF leader also pointed that the Morcha leaders should also clarify to the hill people as which camp - the Bimal lobby and the Binay lobby - represents the "original Gorkha Janmukti Morcha."

After the split among Gurung and Tamang, they have expelled each other from the party. Binay has assumed the president's post in Morcha, a decision that has not been endorsed by Bimal.

"Such statements and counter-statements from both factions are only adding to the confusion among the hill residents. It is now the responsibility of leaders of both lobbies to clear it and assert which of these groups represent the party," said Chhetri.

The assertion by GNLF, observers said, is a tactical move. "Many common people in hills are indeed perplexed as whether Bimal Gurung or Binay Tamang represents the party. Tamang of late has gained control over the civic bodies and is steadily increasing his support base but Gurung's sudden emergence is significant and indicates that he is not ready to walk out of the political arena silently. In such a situation, GNLF is trying to assert pressure on the party and on both lobbies," said an observer.

"GNLF leaders are trying to gain leverage out of this confusion and the presence of two lobbies of the Morcha ," another analyst said.