Tamang silence foxes cadres in plains....Morcha leader keeps mum on party's activities in Dooars and Terai

Tamang addresses the meet in Sukna on Sunday. Picture by Passang Yolmo

AVIJIT SINHA, TT,  Jan 22, 2018,Siliguri: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Binay Tamang's silence on the party's activities in the plains during his address in Sukna on Sunday added the confusion of cadres in the Dooars and the Terai.

Although Tamang was explicit on a number of issues in the speech, he didn't say if the Morcha would continue to lie low or start its revamp in the plains.

"Binay Tamang spoke on a number of issues but his silence on the party's stance in the plains has only added to our confusion. It seems he wants to focus on the hills and lie low in the foothills where we used to have a substantial base, the same thing Trinamul has been doing in the hills for the past six-seven months," said a Morcha leader based in the Terai.

He pointed out that it was due to the confusion that most Morcha leaders and supporters across the Dooars had recently defected to Trinamul. For the past seven-eight months, no political programme has been taken by the hill party in the foothills.

"We are not very sure but it hints at a tacit understanding with Trinamul, like the Left used to have with the GNLF earlier. Trinamul is refraining from holding political activities in the hills while there is no clear directive from our leaders," added the leader.

The public meeting of Tamang in Sukna was a show of strength for Tamang. But significantly, Tamang abstained from passing any directive to his supporters in plains.

"Binay Tamang's speech also hints at the close relationship he has with the state government. He fumed at the Sikkim government and blatantly criticised the BJP but did not utter a word against Trinamul or the state government," said a political observer.

During the agitation, when the chief minister of Sikkim had written to the Centre or SDF, his party, had passed a resolution supporting the demand for Gorkhaland, they had to face criticism from ministers and Trinamul leaders of Bengal.