Binay Camp mulls central committee rejig...new central committees formed replacing previous office bearers

REZA PRADHAN, SNS, DARJEELING, 27 OCTOBER 2017: With the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha'a (GJMM) Binay Tamang faction today fanning an ad-hoc central committee of its youth front, the Tamang camp is also preparing to form anew central committee of the party itself, which, observers see as a big step in undermining Morcha chief Bimal Gurung, who is the president of the party.

The Tamang camp is busy reshuffling different frontal organizations of the Morcha, while they recently formed a new central committee of frontal organisations like the Jan Mukti Asthayi Karmachari Sangathan, an association of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration casual workers. The camp has also chosen conveners for the Morcha trade union, the Darjeeling Terrai Dooars Plantation Labour Union (DTDPLU) which, observers believe is an effort to curb the influence the Morcha chief might have on the party.

"We are looking into the party constitution right now and discussions are also going on for reshuffling of the party central committee. A meeting to decide on this will be held soon. There is only a difference between the thought of the leadership, and those who are in the junglees should also accept this," the party organizing chief of the Tamang faction, LM Lama, said.

On the new central committee of the youth front formed today, Mr Lama said, "There are no signs of the youth front president, Prakash Gurung, while he also has not been in contact, so we decided on a new central committee by choosing Amrit Yonzone as the president. The new ad-hoc committee will run the body as per the new thought, a democratic process."

The actual youth president, Prakash Gurung, is in hiding with many cases registered against him, along with Morcha chief Bimal Gurung.

"Prakash Gurung's removal suggest that the Binay camp is slowly flushing out loyalists of Mr Gurung so that they can have more control over the party,' an observer said.

Asked if Prakash Gurung would remain in the party, Mr Lama said "him not given any portfolio is a message enough."

The youth central committee which earlier had 45 members now has 61 of them. Former Kurseong municipality chairman Sameer Deep Blone has been made the new front's working president, while Tilak Chettri has being chosen as the general secretary. Apart from that, the front will also have six vice-presidents and six joint secretaries.

Explaining the need for the new body, Youth Front spokesperson Arun Chettri said, "We had earlier announced that more than eighty percent of our youth front members supported the democratic process of agitation that is being led by Binay Tamang, while the decision to have a new body was theirs too. Similarly, new bodies will be formed for the other sub-divisions and the district of Kalimpong."

Meanwhile, a press release issued by rebel leader Binay Tamang said tea garden workers have been facing a lot of problems and different issues related to them, like the demand for implementation of the minimum wages act and land papers have not made headway, with the DTDPLU remaining inactive. "As such, we have chosen Karuna Gurung and Bharat Thakuri as the convener of the trade union so that they can take these issues forward," Mr Tamang said.

(Source & Courtesy: The statesman, Siliguri Edition, 28 October 2017)