Kolkata. In his first public appearance in three years, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) leader Bimal Gurung Wednesday announced breaking ties with the NDA, saying the BJP-led dispensation did no fulfil its promise of Gorkhaland. He also pledged support to the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Gurung, who had been absconding since 2017 after he was charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, appeared at Gorkha Bhavan in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area today. Addressing a press conference, the GJM leader said the Gorkha faction is breaking away from the NDA ahead of the 2021 state elections and will extend support to the ruling TMC.
“We are not moving away from Gorkhaland demand. We will support the party which takes forward our demand,” he said. According to TMC sources, before he came at Gorkha Bhavan, Gurung held a meeting with two top TMC leaders lasting more than an hour.
One of the founders of GJM, Gurung who has been one of the most wanted individual by the West Bengal police. He was charged under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with a grenade attack at Kalimpong Police Station and explosion in Darjeeling’s Chowk Bazaar area in 2017. He has been absconding since then.
A state police, along with a Special Task Force, have been looking for him despite speculations that he was in hiding in Nepal or in another country. “I am a political leader. Not a criminal or anti-national. I will be happy even if I am arrested today,” he told the press today. GJM had contested on three seats during the 2016 Bengal elections — winning all three.
