In the past 48 hours, the political atmosphere in Darjeeling hills blew hot and cold like Darjeeling’s weather, ranging from warm greetings between political leaders to attacks to missives of peace.
On Monday morning, Ajoy Edwards, president of the GNLF Darjeeling branch committee, adopted an unconventional method to reach out to his archrivals Anit Thapa and Binay Tamang through social media apprising them of an alleged attack on GNLF workers by supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s Tamang-Thapa faction.
Edwards said that a small skirmish had taken place between the Tamang-Thapa supporters and the GNLF workers at Lopchu on Sunday night following which the former beat up a GNLF supporter and broke the windshield of his car.
“I told our agitated cadres to...not take law in their own hands…please inquire and instruct your people to do the same. We are not enemies here in Darjeeling hills, and this kind of incident should be avoided by all political parties,” Edwards told Tamang-Thapa on social media.
Thapa immediately responded to Edwards’s post and said he, too, did not encourage such incidents, and that the welfare of the hills was above party interest.
“Please feel free to call me on my phone,” Thapa said.
Many hill residents appreciated this warm exchange between the two leaders.
However, late on Monday night, news poured in about a clash between rival Bimal Gurung and Tamang-Thapa camps of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.
Mahendra Pradhan, the leader of the Morcha (Tamang-Thapa camp), and former Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Sabha member from Sonada, alleged that Bimal Gurung had personally assaulted him.
“I was on my way to Nalichor (a Sonada village) while Bimal Gurung was returning (to Darjeeling). There was a traffic jam. I was alone and it was then that daju (Bimal Gurung) assaulted me and I sustained injuries on my head,” said Pradhan. The Binay camp leader also admitted that he also threw a stone at Gurung’s cavalcade after the attack.
Gurung denied the charge and said while he was on his way from Ringtang tea garden, a group of eight-nine boys along with Pradhan were standing and whistling. The whistle is the Tamang-Thapa camp’s election symbol.
“I carried on with my journey. Later I heard that they attacked one of the vehicles at the end of my cavalcade. One worker is injured and the charge that I assaulted Mahendra Pradhan is false,” said Gurung.
On Tuesday, there was a war of words between the two camps.
However, late on Tuesday evening, leaders of major political parties from the hills issued a joint statement calling for peace in the hills following an all-party meeting convened by Darjeeling police.
Leaders who issued message of peace included Morcha (Gurung camp) general-secretary Roshan Giri, Darjeeling subdivision committee president (Tamang-Thapa camp) Alok Kant Mani Thulung, GNLF’s Edwards, BJP (hills) district secretary Raju Gurung and Trinamul’s Devendra Ghatani.
“Politics is in its own place, but we are not enemies. Leaders are united here and it is foolish for cadres to fight,” said Edwards.
“Political relations might change but we are all brothers in the hills,” added Thulung. “If anything happens, instead of informing party leaders it is better to go to the police station and allow law to take its course.”
