Didn't discuss Binoy rejoining party, says Bimal He says all should work together for the Hill people

SNS, DARJEELING,12 AUGUST 21 : The leader of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha-1, Bimal Gurung, today maintained that no discussions on former Morcha-2 leader Binoy Tamang's possibilities of joining his camp was held in their meeting yesterday.

"He wanted to meet me and I obliged. As a guardian of the hills, anyone can come and meet me. We did not discuss anything political, but talked about the present scenario. With the Covid pandemic affecting everyone, we should all work together for the benefit of the people in the Hills, Dooars and the Tarai," said Mr Gurung, adding that there had been misunderstandings earlier, but that Mr Tamang had regretted it for that.

Mr Gurung, however, said the two leaders would not be seen in one platform in the coming days, but added that "in politics, anything can happen." While the meeting yesterday had sparked speculations in the hills about whether Mr Tamang would rejoin the Gurung camp, the meeting itself was the first time that both the leaders met one-on-one after the resignation of Mr Tamang on 15 June this year from his post as the president of the GJMM-2 faction. When he left the party, Mr Tamang cited reasons like an "ongoing conspiracy" for him to be removed from politics.

Mr Tamang, along with GJMM-2 leader Anit Thapa, had split from the original GJMM led by Bimal Gurung in 2017 after the Gorkhaland agitation in the Hlils.

With both the factions at loggerheads earlier, both the leaders were seen showing a soft corner towards each other when Mr Tamang shed tears as he announced his resignation and his decision to return the flag of the party to Mr Gurung. A similar sight was seen when Mr Gurung received the flag from supporters of Mr Tamang later.

GJMM-2 slams duo's Darj meeting

On the other hand, the GJMM -2 came down heavily on the meeting between the two leaders, maintaining that Mr Tamang had given up his ideology for his personal gains.

The GJMM-2 Darjeeling sub-division president, Alok Kanta Mani Thulung, said, "We were surprised and sad with the development as when he (Mr Tamang) was our party president, he had made statements against Gurung and said that they would not share any political or administrative platform with him and that Gurung was irrelevant."

"Now him going and meeting Gurung shows that he had given up his ideology for personal benefits. We, on the other hand, will not compromise like this," said Mr Thulung, adding that the Morcha 2 would benefit if both Mr Gurung and Tamang decided to work together.

According to Bimal Gurung, he and Binoy Tamang would not be seen in one platform in the coming days. He, however, added that anything could happen in politics.