Ready for dialogue with Bengal CM, says Gurung

New Delhi: Senior leader of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Bimal Gurung on Thursday said he was willing to talk to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in a bid to help resolve crisis in Darjeeling and the adjoining hill districts.

Mr Gurung also dismissed Ms Banerjee’s allegations that he was a separatist, claiming that their demands were within the constitutional framework and he firmly believed in the country’s integrity. He also demanded an independent probe into cases lodged against him and his party associates by the state police, saying these were motivated and that they had been falsely implicated.

The GJM alleged that Mr Gurung had been booked in more than 350 cases and had even petitioned the Supreme Court, which directed the police not to take any coercive measures against him. Mr Gur-ung said he was ready for a dialogue with the West Bengal CM as dialogue was the only way forward.  

He also claimed they were fighting for the Gorkha identity and did not comment on the issue of a separate state.

“We have nothing against the people of Bengal, but the language and culture of Gorkhas were distinct from them and whatever they were demanding was within the ambit of the Constitution,’’ he added.

While accusing the state government of acting in a “one-sided manner”, he appealed to his supporters to maintain peace and not to resort to any illegal activity.

Ms Banerjee had earlier appointed Vinay Tamang as the chief of the of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration after Mr Gurung, who was earlier heading it, and his associates resigned. However, Mr Gurung’s supporters claimed that Mr Tamang had been propped up by the Trinamul Congress, but the GJM leader remained the “real leader” of Gorkhas.