Benoy Tamang joins Congress, shot in the arm for grand old party

YOWAN MOTHAY, EOI, KALIMPONG, NOVEMBER 26, 2023 :  Almost a year after resigning from Trinamool Congress, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Sabasad Binoy Tamang on Sunday joined Congress. At a convention of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee in Kalimpong, Benoy Tamang accepted the Congress flag from WBPCC president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. 

After joining the Congress Tamang said the recognition of Nepali language under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and GTA had all been given by Congress and Congress was the only option for the people of the hills in the Lok Sabha election of 2024. 

He also alleged that since 2009, BJP had not done anything for the Darjeeling hills. 

Tamang said, in 2009 Jaswant Singh won as the BJP candidate from Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat,, in 2014 SS Ahluwalia and in 2019 Raju Bista. Besides, there were many MLAs from the BJP too from the hills along with them we gave many MLAs to BJP. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Siliguri in 2014, he said the Gorkhas was his dream. But even after reigning in the hills for 15 years the BJP had not given anything for the Darjeeling hill. 

"Even today, the problem of Darjeeling hills is the same," said Tamang.. 

Former GTA chairman who was earlier with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Benoy Tamang was a high profile politician in the hills and his joining the Congress would be a shot in the arm for the party in Darjeeling, observers said. It was expected that Congress would project him as the Lok Sabha candidate for the party from Darjeeling. 

AICC leaders had already said that Congress wanted to project a 'Nepali Bhumiputra' as the party candidate for the seat in the coming election. 

Tamang said that he had been in touch with the Congress for a long time and joined the Congress on Sunday after a meeting with senior leaders. He also said that he had written to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders in March this year regarding many issues. 

He added, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, had come to Darjeeling. When Nehru had gone to Bhutan, he had passed through Kalimpong. Mahatma Gandhi too had walked in a 'padayatra' in Darjeeling in 1926. 

Indira Gandhi had also come to Darjeeling Hills when she was Prime Minister. Rajiv Gandhi also came to the Darjeeling hills after becoming the Prime Minister. He appealed that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should also come to Darjeeling hills. 

He said he had joined Trinamool as per the promise of the ruling party in West Bengal that it would fulfil nine issues facing the hills and the Terai and the Dooars. But Trinamool had not shown any interest in those issues since. He said Congress should give him a chance to work and not keep him idle the way Trinamool had done