As fugitive Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung alleged that the state government could be trying to settle illegal Bangladeshis ousted from Assam in the Hills, leaders of the other faction of the Morcha in Darjeeling it was a false claim, while they also maintained that the BJP government was trying to implement the National Register of Citizens in Bengal and shortchange the Gorkhas.

In a Press release issued in his social media group, Mr Gurung said: “I extend my support to all those genuine citizens of India whose name have been left out of the NRC list and request the central government to handle their cases with utmost care and also request the government of Assam to consider all genuine cases.”

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He added that he was worried over the situation developing due to the NRC in Assam as it could lead to marginalisation of the indigenous Gorkhas, Kamtapuri and Adivasis of North Bengal.

“We want no such unfortunate situation to develop as we won’t allow the indigenous communities to suffer injustice. If actions are taken to undermine the locals, Bimal Gurung won’t stay silent. I have been made aware of the fact that the state government is secretly measuring plots of land in our hills. If this is being done to settle illegal Bangladeshis who have been removed from Assam, then it creates a national security threat,” said the release.

Stating that the Darjeeling Terai and Dooars is a highly region, there could be possibilities of anti-national forces fomenting trouble in this region and “a conspiracy to settle illegal immigrants would only put the national security at great risk”.

Meanwhile, claiming that allegations of the state government secretly measuring land in the hills were “false and fake,” Morcha leader Anit Thapa said in a separate Press release that the person who has not been in the region for the last one year and had ditched the local people has no right to say that he has information that the government is secretly measuring land to settle illegal immigrants.

“I would challenge the fugitive leader to show any proof relating to this,” Mr Thapa said. He added that Mr Gurung’s claims were nothing but another example of his spreading rumours to divide the hill people.

“The people in the hills must understand that they should not be swayed by false propaganda and fake promises by a person who is on the run,” said Mr Thapa.

In yet another Press release, Morcha leader in Darjeeling, Binoy Tamang, said that the BJP, by implementing the NRC, is trying to “chase us away from our place”.

“We condemn this as the Gorkhas have come to India with their land. If we are to talk about Darjeeling, Terai and Dooars, then our community who has been living in the tea gardens is deprived of land ownership,” he said.

Mr Tamang added that 81.2 per cent of the Gorkha community who has been living in the tea gardens, forest villages and other areas do not have land ownership certificates.

“With an eye on the 2019 elections, the BJP government is planning to implement the NRC in Bengal and do injustice to the Gorkhas. We have to foil these efforts of the BJP to dominate Bengal in the year 2019. The BJP, which had maintained earlier that the dream of the Gorkhas was their dream, is backstabbing us. Instead of looking into our demands like Gorkhaland and tribal status, they are trying to chase us away,” Mr Tamang said.