KOLKATA: Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) leader Binay Tamang on Saturday took a dig at Union Minister and Darjeeling MP S.S. Ahluwalia for claiming to protect absconding GJM chief Bimal Gurung and ruled out an alliance with the BJP for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
He challenged Ahluwalia to fight the 2019 elections from Darjeeling with Gurung's help and claimed that the margin of defeat for the sitting MP will be as emphatic as his victory due to the BJP-GJM alliance in 2014.
"I challenge Ahluwalia to fight the 2019 elections by joining hands with Bimal Gurung. You will trail in 2019 by the number of votes that took you to victory in 2014," Tamang, also in charge of Board of Administrators of Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA), said in a release.
"Your party and you have given us a lot of false hopes. Enough is enough. Absolutely rule out any kind of alliance with the BJP in future. People in the hills do not want such turncoats," he said.
Referring to the Union Minister's comments that he would protect Gurung from agencies trying to eliminate him, Tamang said Ahluwalia should be sympathetic about not just Gurung but the entire Gorkha community.
He also accused Ahluwalia and the BJP of trying to fool the people of Bengal hills and create unrest in the region by bringing up the name of Bimal Gurung.
"It is surprising that the MP is talking about saving Gurung but not saying anything about the issues of the entire Gorkha community. Why is he not thinking about the long- pending issues of the Gorkhas?" he asked.
"The strike in the hills was called off after assurance from the Centre on a tripartite meeting on Gorkhaland. Where is this meeting? What is the update on this?"