KOLKATA: The central committee of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) expelled rebel party leaders--former GJM chief coordinator Binay Tamang and former central committee member Anit Thapa from the party on Saturday.
The decision was taken after 12 members of the central committee held a meeting with GJM president Bimal Gurung at an undisclosed location near the West Bengal-Sikkim border on Friday evening.
However, in what is seen as a major shift from stand of the ‘hardliners’ of the hill party, GJM has taken a resolution to attend the second round of talks called by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Siliguri on September 12.
However, the party stated that it would talk with Mamata Banerjee on only one point agenda of formation of Gorkhaland state. Party supremo Bimal Gurung had earlier rebuked Tamang and Thapa for agreeing for second round of talks even after Mamata Banerjee had stated that formation of Gorkhaland was beyond her jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, expelled GJM leader Binay Tamang said that the GJM leadership was jealous of him.
“The decision to lift the indefinite strike was instructed to me by Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri. I still have the recording. They are jealous of me,” Tamang said.
Sikkim-Bengal clash
Meanwhile, one close associate of Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Manch president Dawa Pakhrin died allegedly during a West Bengal police operation to nab Bimal Gurung, against whom lookout notice has been issued, at Namchi in South Sikkim late on Friday night. The deceased, Dawa Bhutia, a resident of Pedong in Kalimpong district was killed during the operation to nab Gurung.
While West Bengal CID claimed that Gurung gave a slip to them, 10 of his close associates were nabbed and presented in Siliguri subdivisional court on Friday. On the other hand, Sikkim police has lodged an FIR under Section 302 (murder) against Kalimpong district SP Ajit Kumar Yadav and CID operatives for unlawfully entering Sikkim by posing as tourists and killing a person on Sikkim soil. A case has been booked against West Bengal CID at Namchi police station in South Sikkim for entering Sikkim with the sole purpose of killing a person.
South Sikkim district SP Pratap Pradhan said that the West Bengal police operatives posed as tourists going to Ravangla in western Sikkim. “They should have informed us regarding the operation. This is gross violation of the security of Sikkim,” he said.