Bimal Gurung addresses the crowd. Picture by Anirban Choudhuri

Birpara (Alipurduar), April 24: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung today declared at a public meeting here that his party’s rally on April 27 at Baghajatin Park in Siliguri would go ahead as planned.

Yesterday, Bengal chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb had said the situation was “tense” in Siliguri and no permission would probably be given for the rally. The situation needed to improve before such permission could be granted to the Morcha.

Deb had cited the September 28 violence last year. Street riots triggered by rumours that Indian Idol supporters had resorted to hooliganism prompted police firing, curfew and army deployment on the day.

“We will hold the meeting under any circumstance, even if the state government denies us permission. If there is violence, the government will be responsible,” Gurung told reporters after the meeting held 66km from Alipurduar town.

More than 5,000 people had gathered at the grounds of the Nepali Hindi High School, where Gurung addressed the crowd. This was Gurung’s third rally in the Dooars following those at Bagrakote and Samsing on April 20 and 22

“Siliguri is our own place and we are going ahead with the rally, even if we need to lay down our lives,” Gurung said.

The Morcha chief also said his party would support independent candidates instead of those contesting under political banners in the panchayat polls in the Dooars. The stand is a deviation from Gurung’s announcement after the Sixth Schedule bill was stalled that his party was not interested in the election process. “We are not against the government but we are definitely against Asok Bhattacharya (Bengal municpal affairs minister) who calls us foreigners.”

He told the gathering that the CPM was trying to uproot the adivasis from tea gardens so that they could be replaced by illegal Bangladeshi immigrants whose votes the party needs.

“You need to have a separate Gorkhaland to protect your interests and by 2010, I will make this a reality,” the Morcha chief said. Gurung added that he had brought along Ajoy Kerketta, the central committee secretary of the All Jharkhand Students’ Union, so that the adivasi people in the Dooars were convinced of his intention.

“This is the age of Internet and our children will go for higher education, and not carry guns, for our movement is one of peace,” Gurung said.

A huge police force, under Sabyasachi Raman Mishra, the additional police superintendent, Alipurduar, had been deployed near the venue.