After creating a sensation in the political circles of the State by
announcing that he would return to Darjeeling on Thursday, absconding
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supremo Bimal Gurung did not turn up at the
airport. His arrival was announced by his close aide Roshan Giri.
High
drama was witnessed at the Bagdogra airport in anticipation of the
return of Mr. Gurung, who has been on the run since September 2017
following the violent agitation for a separate State of Gorkhaland. The
airport resembled a crisis zone with heavy deployment of police
personnel waiting to arrest the GJM leader the moment he landed there.
Two of Mr. Gurung’s supporters—Roshan Rai and Yogendra Pradhan—were
detained from the airport.
Mr. Gurung had been ruling unchallenged
in the Darjeeling hills from 2008 till 2017. He went into hiding after
the State government slapped numerous criminal cases on him in
connection with the violence during the Gorkhaland agitation between
July to September 2017. More than 10 people were killed in the protests
that lasted a record 104 days under Mr Gurung’s leadership.
The
GJM leader had announced that he would return to the hills after the
Supreme Court asked him and Mr. Giri to move the Calcutta High Court for
anticipatory bail in connection with the cases filed against them.
Gorkhland
Territorial Administration chief and once a close aide of the GJM
leader, Binay Tamang said Mr. Gurung would surely have been arrested had
he dared to come to Darjeeling. “He wants to create a law and order
situation in the Darjeeling hills so that the elections can be
postponed,” said Mr. Tamang.
Poll battle
The Darjeeling
Lok Sabha seat, currently held by the BJP, is poised for a neck-and-neck
contest between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. Mr. Gurung's
presence in the hills may tilt the balance in favour of the BJP
candidate, Raju Singh Bista, whom the GJM (Gurung faction) and the
Gorkha National Liberation Front are supporting. The TMC has extended
its support to Darjeeling MLA Amar Singh Rai, who also has the support
of the Binay Tamang faction of the GJM.
“If Bimal Gurung comes to
Darjeeling it will be a major victory for us. We hope that that he
overcomes the legal hurdles and arrives as soon as possible,” Mr. Bista
said.
(With PTI inputs)
High drama witnessed at Bagdogra airport in anticipation of return of GJM leader
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