Bimal Gurung meeting today after years - expecting a turnout of over a lakh

He is likely to elaborate on his decision to sever ties with the BJP and support Mamata Banerjee

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TT   |   Siliguri   |    06.12.20  :  Bimal Gurung of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is likely to address his first public meeting after three-and-a-half years at the Indira Gandhi Maidan here off NH31 on Sunday, while the BJP has lined up a protest march to Uttarkanya, the branch of the state secretariat, on Monday.

Gurung, who resurfaced in Calcutta on October 21 this year, is likely to elaborate on his decision to sever ties with the BJP and support Mamata Banerjee.

“We are expecting a turnout of over a lakh,” said a leader of the Gurung faction. Roshan Giri, general-secretary of Gurung camp of the Morcha, visited the ground on Saturday to check arrangements and told the media that they would “raise the demand for Gorkhaland till our last breath”. 

Rival Binay Tamang camp, which had planned a public meeting at Jamuni in Tukvar of Darjeeling on Sunday to celebrate its youth wing foundation day, postponed it to Monday, spokesperson Keshav Raj Pokhrel saying “public safety comes first”, possibly over fears of clashes between rival factions though both now support Trinamul.

On Monday, the BJP’s “Uttarkanya Abhijan” will protest the alleged lack of infrastructure development in north Bengal. BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh, youth front chief Soumitra Khan and others are likely to attend the event along with elected representatives.

“Both are important political events. While the public meeting will give an indication about the support that Bimal Gurung has in the region right now, the protest march of BJP is the first major political activity of the party in north Bengal in months,” said an observer.

(Courtesy & source- The Telegraph- https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/bimal-gurung-meeting-today-after-years/cid/1799676)