West Bengal witnessed two homecomings on Sunday — one in south Bengal and one in north Bengal — of two prominent figures who had dominated the political landscape of the respective regions for several years.
Bimal Gurung of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) who has been in hiding after the Mamata Banerjee government slapped a number of cases against him during the 2017 agitation, including sections under the UAPA, returned to Darjeeling after over three years.
At the other end of the State, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former MLA Sushanta Ghosh, who had been forbidden by the law to enter Paschim Medinipur district returned to the district after eight years.
Addressing a gathering at Siliguri, Mr. Gurung, who has shunned ties with the BJP, said that in the past ten years, the party has done nothing for the people of the Hills and urged the people to teach it a lesson in the 2021 Assembly polls. The BJP has held the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat for the last 10 years.
While the GJM founder is yet to reach the Hills, his presence at Siliguri is a significant development and thousands of people had gathered to hear him. Mr Gurung made a public appearance in October this year, and in a political U-turn, had said he would support Ms Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly polls.
Mr. Ghosh, who was arrested in 2011 after skeletons were recovered near his residence, was granted bail in February 2012, but was not allowed to visit the district. Speaking at a gathering in the presence of CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty among others, he accused the Trinamool Congress government of slapping false cases against him.
“We have a vindictive government at the State which does not abide by any rule of law and at a Centre there is a terrible divisive force. We have to fight the 2021 Assembly polls and defeat both these forces,” Mr Ghosh said at the gathering at Chandrakona Road. The CPI(M) supporters welcome their leader with a huge rally of motorbikes.
