A “Chance” Meeting Between Bimal Gurung & Chhatrey Subba

VIVEK CHHETRI
DARJEELING : A “chance” meeting between Bimal Gurung and Chhatrey Subba has generated much interest in the hills as the 71-year-old Gorkha leader is known to be against an autonomous set-up for the region — one reason why he fell out with Subash Ghisingh. He was also accused of masterminding a murder attempt on the GNLF chief. The meeting has been confirmed by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders who accompanied their chief, Gurung, to the banks of the Relli in Kalimpong for an agriculture fair.

This is the first meeting between Gurung and Subba since his release from jail on September 9, 2011, after he was acquitted of all charges. “It was not a pre-planned meeting but a chance meeting. We had gone to the Agri Horti-Techno Fair and Subba had happened to come there. There was no question of ignoring Subba, and Bimal Gurung met him over coffee for some time,” confirmed a Morcha central committee member who had accompanied Gurung. The details of the conversation between the two are not known. Although Subba has not expressed his desire to be active in politics, his presence is significant as he is well-known in the hills as someone who had never patched up with Ghisingh. “Many people in the hills consider Subba as someone who was committed to the statehood cause.

He has also gained much sympathy for the fact that he had to spend 10 years in prison only to be acquitted in the end. Many also believe that Subba was somehow framed and thrown in jail so that he could not confront Ghisingh,” said an observer. The meeting with Gurung came at a time there were indications that Subba was not happy with the Morcha for settling for an autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) In fact, a day after being released from a Jalpaiguri jail after more than a decade, Subba had told journalists that he had opposed the formation of the DGHC in 1988 and felt the same about the GTA. “I was the lone voice against the tripartite agreement (to form the DGHC). I am still suffering because of that. They (the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha) should not have settled for any autonomous set-up. It is wrong,” he had said in Kalimpong.

Subba had fallen out with Ghisingh on the DGHC issue in 1988 after having supported him throughout the 28-month Gorkhaland agitation. Subba then formed the Gorkhaland Liberation Organisation that fought tooth and nail, sometimes leading to armed conflicts too, with Ghisingh’s Gorkha Volunteer Cell. But soon after, he was arrested for allegedly masterminding an attempt on the life of Ghisingh on February 10, 2001. Recently there were indications of Subba aligning with the anti-Morcha camp. “There were talks of Subba being present at a book release function organised by Ajay Dahal, a leader of the United Gorkha Revolutionary Front (opposed to the Morcha) in Kalimpong recently.

It is a different story that Subba dropped out because of health reasons,” said an observer. Many in the hills believe that if the Morcha can urge Subba not to take sides, it could take a lot of steam out of Opposition camps. “There is no doubt that the Opposition parties will receive much support in the hills if Subba aligns with them. But if he stays neutral, as he has been doing till date, the Morcha will definitely gain a lot,” said an observer.

( Source - The Telegraph)

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