Tamang faction plans mass meeting in Bimal stronghold

Political pundits believe this could been indirect challenge to Mr Gurung and would also be a show of strength of the Tamang camp in his home turf.

SNS, DARJEELING. 12 NOVEMBER 2020 : The Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha's Binoy Tamang camp is all set to organize a public meeting after Diwali at Tukvar, which is considered the stronghold of Bimal Gurung, the leader of the other faction of the party.

Political pundits believe this could been indirect challenge to Mr Gurung and would also be a show of strength of the Tamang camp in his home turf.

"After Diwali, we have decided to hold a public meeting at Tukvar. People from the 17 constituencies in the Darjeeling sub-division will converge for the meeting," Mr Tamang said today.

Tukvar, around 12 km from here, has in the past remained a stronghold of Mr Gurung, also when he was with the Gorkha National liberation Front, while he later floated his own political party from there.

Observers maintain that the main reason for the Tamang camp to hold a public meeting there could also he to show that Mr Gurung holds very less support in that area at present, at a time when there are talks of him returning to the Hills after three years in hiding.

"Presently, there are a lot of tourists in the Hills and we do not want to cause them inconvenience by holding a public meeting in the town area," said MrTamang.

Speaking on Mr Gurung coming back, he said, "Gurung cannot come back to the hills now. Different claims are being made as to when he would comeback, but his condition has become similar to GNLF leader Subash Ghisingh. After Ghisingh was chased away from the Hills by Gurung on 11 March, 2008, he was kept in Jalpaiguri and his cadres who met him came back and gave different dates as to when he would make a return.

'That never happened, with Ghisingh returning only much later."

Mr Tamang also claimed that Mr Gurung would not be able to move from Kolkata, where he is camping presently, until he showed him the green flag.

"There are many cases pending against him, with him being a proclaimed offender. The judiciary must be respected and only if the court finds him innocent, he can come back home. If that does not happen, a negative message will go to the rest of the world that one can do anything in Darjeeling," Mr Tamang said.