Bimal Gurung in Gangtok on Sunday and the car in which he arrived from Darjeeling. Pictures by Prabin Khaling

Gangtok, Aug. 24: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung today arrived here from Darjeeling on his Tata Safari bearing a “GL” number plate, more to make peace than attend a religious convention.

In recent times, the frequent blockades set up by the Morcha on NH 31A, the lifeline to the Himalayan state, had irked Pawan Chamling. During the last blockade, the chief minister had lashed out at Gurung’s party without naming it, saying the people of the state would not accept “suppression or domination by outside forces”.

Addressing the people at the convention organised by Heavenly Path at Palzor Stadium, Gurung said Chamling was his “elder brother”.

“I appeal to him to lend a few words for the support of his younger brother. Sikkim and Darjeeling share a brotherly relation for ages and will continue to do so till the Teesta and the Rangit (rivers) flow. I have come today to set right the recent misunderstandings between the people of Sikkim and Darjeeling,” Gurung told the gathering.

The Morcha leader — this was his first visit to the state after he founded the party in October last year — was referring to the blockade at Rangpo on August 7, the reason for Chamling’s last outburst.

Rumours that Sikkim police have arrested Morcha supporters on a signature campaign for Gorkhaland in Gangtok had prompted the setting up of the roadblock on that day. Gurung’s party is spearheading the campaign for the separate state in the Darjeeling hills.

In recent times, a Sikkim resident also filed a case in the Supreme Court protesting against the frequent blockades of the highway during bandhs called in Bengal. The Morcha had been made a party to the case.

Later, while addressing journalists at a hotel here, Gurung said he could not meet the spiritual leader of Heavenly Path in Darjeeling and so had come down to meet him. “However, I will use this occasion to appeal to the people of Sikkim that we all come from the same family tree and nobody should neglect the other. We share the same customs, culture and language, the only thing is that the younger of the two brothers is suffering at the hands of the makers of the nation,” he said.

Asked what he thought about Chamling’s silence on the demand for Gorkhaland, Gurung said: “It is not easy for him to come out with a statement as he heads a government and has to take many things into consideration. We will, however, continue to send delegations to him till he agrees to place a resolution in the Assembly to endorse the separate state of Gorkhaland. I am keen to have talks with him and will come as many times as he wants me to.”

In answer to queries on whether or not the “GL” number plate had created any problem, Gurung replied in the negative. “If I was stopped I would have told the police that I am going to visit the home of my elder brother. If I was prevented from entering the state I would have replaced the vehicle,” he said.

The Morcha leader’s passage into Sikkim through Rangpo was easy with the police having passed the buck on the transport department. “They usually look after all these issues,” said a senior police officer.

On the other hand, senior transport officials said, they did not know what to do, as this was the first time that a vehicle bearing “GL” plates entered Sikkim. They said the state government had been asked for directions in this matter.

“We were told, if the Darjeeling police have no problem with the number plates, why should we,” a senior transport official said.

Teachers’ protest

The Janmukti Secondary Teachers’ Organisation and the Janmukti Primary Teachers’ Organisation have decided to boycott the Teachers’ Day celebrations on September 5, organised annually by the DGHC.

The two frontal organisations of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, however, have no problems about individual schools felicitating the teachers.

The boycott is a protest against alleged government indifference to teachers and, according to observers, an end to the Subash Ghisingh legacy of convening centralised programmes. “Moreover, any felicitation must also include teachers from the Dooars (which is part of the area demanded under Gorkhaland),” said Binay Dewan, the president of the secondary teachers’ organisation.