DARJEELING: The daylight assault on a BJP delegation is seen as the first major act of rebel Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s (GJM) establishment of power in the hills after a fruitless 104-day strike.
The BJP delegation comprising state party chief Dilip Ghosh, vice president Jay Prakash Mazumdar and others was attacked at Chowk Bazaar in Darjeeling on October 5, allegedly by supporters of rebel GJM camp helmed by Binay Tamang. While police have arrested two GJM supporters for the attack, it is unlikely that names of leaders who ordered the attack will be revealed, when the state administration is strongly behind the rebel camp.
The BJP was caught unprepared for the attack, as the party leadership had effectively overlooked signs of resentment over the Centre ignoring cries for a separate Gorkhaland. The absence of BJP’s Darjeeling MP S S Ahluwalia ever since strike erupted in the hills on June 8 and Ghosh’s declaration that the Centre needed state’s approval for Gorkhaland creation seemed to have added fuel to fire. To see the attack as a spontaneous reaction of people against the BJP, as was claimed by state education minister Partha Chatterjee and tourism minister Goutam Deb, may be far from reality.
“Attacking the state leadership of the ruling party at Centre cannot be executed by a few angry Gorkhaland supporters. This needs meticulous planning and execution. It is to be noted that the BJP leaders weren’t attacked by a mob, but by only around 8-10 people. The way the attackers punched the members right on their faces and kicked them on their hips show they were no ordinary citizens and could have been hired goons,” a political analyst said.
Some have even drawn similarities with the murder of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League leader Madan Tamang. “Madan Tamang’s throat was slit with a dagger in broad daylight by professional men. The same traits were seen in these attacks as well. They pushed Ghosh and Mazumdar, but did not punch them. It shows they had clear instructions to only cause terror and not harm the leaders, which could have angered the Centre,” said Jit Bahadur Thapa, a local.
Though the attack may pinpoint that the rebel camp was more serious in the statehood issue than Bimal Gurung who is in hiding, the possible indirect involvement of CM Mamata Banerjee, as alleged by the BJP, may not go down well with the pro-Gorkhaland residents of the hill districts.