Kolkata, Aug 23 (IANS) Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari will attend the foundation day ceremony of Bimal Gurung-founded Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which has long been spearheading the movement for a permanent political solution for the hills scattered over Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong in the northern sector of West Bengal.
Announcing this on Sunday, Gurung, the current GJM president, said that CM Adhikari will be present at GJM’s foundation day celebration programme as the Chief Guest.
“The Chief Minister will be the chief guest at the GJM’s foundation anniversary function. Me and the GJM’s general secretary, Roshan Giri met the Chief Minister in Kolkata in July this year. At that time, the Chief Minister was invited to attend the foundation anniversary function. His attendance has been confirmed now,” said Gurung while speaking to the media persons at Darjeeling on Sunday evening.
The announcement by Gurung is significant on two grounds.
The announcement comes just a day after the Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a crucial tripartite meeting on a permanent political solution in the Bengal hills and also announced the formation of a new committee led by former Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF) Pankaj Kumar Singh with the goal of achieving that permanent political solution.
The second ground for which the Chief Minister’s presence at the GJM’s foundation day programme is important is that a tripartite agreement had been reached that the permanent political solution will be achieved without separating the hills and jungle-plains in Dooars and Terai regions from the northern sector of West Bengal.
In the meeting chaired by HM Shah on Saturday, it was decided that the new committee, headed by the former DG of BSF as the interlocutor, will visit the hills, Terai and Dooars regions and submit a report to the Union Home Ministry.
Based on those suggestions, permanent political solutions for the hills will be achieved.
The GJM played an important role in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, with BJP candidates, backed by the GJM, winning all six of the Assembly seats in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.
–IANS
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