Bimal Gurung on Monday made available to The Telegraph the documents he had purportedly submitted to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy to prove that he was not responsible for the latter’s tweet about autonomy for Darjeeling within Bengal.
Swamy had on Sunday tweeted that he had met Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Gurung in Delhi on Saturday “for drafting a demand for an autonomous region of Gorkhaland within Bengal”.
The tweet has cornered Gurung who had only a few months ago taken the lead in forming a national committee to spearhead the Gorkhaland demand.
“We sought Swamy’s help in creating a separate state of Gorkhaland. A letter we submitted to him speaks for itself,” Gurung told this newspaper.
“In April 2015 you said, ‘Gorkhaland is not a question of why but rather a question of when.’ The statement of yours only illustrates your belief that the Central government would help us realise our long-cherished dream and goal,” the letter reads.
In the letter, Gurung expressed his sadness over the lack of initiative by the BJPled government at the Centre to address the issues of the Gorkhas.
“As you have been one of the few sincere and vocal supporter of our movement for creation of Gorkhaland, we solicit your guidance and are also willing to take legal course if required and necessary for the creation of Gorkhaland, which has been our aspiration and dream for more than a century now,” Gurung has signed off.
Gurung also said his team had handed Swamy a document titled “Why Gorkhaland”.
Observers in the hills have pointed out that while Swamy had supported Gorkhaland earlier, he started rooting for the Union Territory of Gorkhaland last year.
“However, of late, he talked about autonomy for Darjeeling within Bengal and Saturday’s tweet is not the first and hence, cannot be taken as an error,” said an analyst.
On February 24, 2023, Swamy had tweeted: “Gorkhas of Darjeeling require immediate autonomous region within Bengal for which Bengal Assembly must pass a resolution. Mamata Banerjee is an able CM with single handedAssembly victories. Gorkhas need compassion and autonomy. They deserve it.”
As Swamy hasn’t yet removed his Saturday tweet, the observers believe that Gurungis on a sticky wicket. “Gurung’s meeting with Swamyand the latter’s subsequent tweet turned into an own goal for Gurung,” said the analyst.“The complaint against the BJP might not be taken kindly by certain quarters of the saffron eco-system.”
Gurung had supported the BJP since 2009 only to dump the party in 2020 to join hands with the Trinamul Congress. Gurung seems to be distancing himself from Trinamul now.
