As Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung finally returned to the region after three-and-a-half years of hiding from the state police today, he declared a “war” against the BJP, a party that the Morcha and a majority of the Gorkhas had supported in the past three general elections, which resulted in the saffron brigade winning the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat for three consecutive terms.

Addressing a massive rally at the overflowing Indira Gandhi Maidan here today, an emotional Mr Gurung lambasted the BJP for treating the Gorkhas as “pawns” and doing nothing for the Hills, while also heaping praises on Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the work she had been doing in the state.

He further sought the resignation of Darjeeling’s BJP MP, Raju Bista, who rode high on the support lent by the Morcha (Gurung camp) and other Hill parties and secured a thumping win in the 2019 Parliamentary elections.

“I am here to speak against those who used me as a voting machine and later threw me out. I am also here to speak for the one who brought me here again today amid my people, and her name is Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,” Mr Gurung said amid loud cheers.

“The central government lied to us since 2014, while Narendra Modi’s statement ‘the dream of the Gorkhas is my dream’ remained just a dream. I want to ask Modi ji and BJP, what mistake had the Gorkhas made to be punished like this, despite the fact that the Gorkhas gave them three MPs in a row?” he added.

Mr Gurung also said that the BJP has to furnish answers before the 2021 state elections. He reminded the gathering how the BJP had promised Scheduled Tribe status to 11 Gorkha communities and a ‘permanent political solution’ to the Hill political problem, among other unfulfilled promises made by the party.

“If the BJP comes to beg for votes now, it has to first grant ST status to the 11 Gorkha communities, otherwise this Bimal Gurung will stand like an iron and give you a befitting reply,” he said, reminding the BJP of how he and the other persons displaced after the 2017 Gorkhaland agitation spent their three-and-a-half years in hardship.

“You have treated the Gorkhas with disdain, and the Gorkha community will never forgive you, Mod Ji,” he said.

According to him, he was forced to “shake hands” with Miss Banerjee just because the BJP did nothing for the Gorkhas. “I will now give Modi a befitting reply by keeping Mamata Banerjee in the forefront,” he said.

“The Ramayana battle has now begun and this battle will not end until we emerge victorious in the 2021 (Assembly) elections,” he added.

Stating that his party had not given up on the “main agenda” of a separate state of Gorkhaland and that the tieup with the Trinamul Congress was for the 2021 Assembly elections, Mr Gurung said that the Morcha will throw its weight behind any party that supports the statehood demand in the 2014 general elections.

Among other BJP leaders, he did not spare BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, whom he called names and who, according to him, was dead against the Gorkhas.

Appealing to the people to vote for the Morcha-TMC alliance in the upcoming elections, he said he will now go places in the region and hold rallies and meetings and not rest for a while.

Asking MP Raju Bista to step down, Mr Gurung said: “We helped you win the (general) elections with a margin of 4.5 lakh votes, but you spoilt everything by speaking too much. You spoke so much that the BJP has closed your chapter… and made you the national spokesperson of the BJP. Now, Raju Bista cannot speak for us.”

“I learnt within these three years that Mamata Banerjee fulfills her word and does what she says, and that is why I thought I will try once and talk to her. I have told Miss Banerjee about the permanent political solution and she has promised that she would work for it,” he said, adding that he will now change the way he will do politics.

Without naming anyone, he also came down heavily on leaders of the other faction of the Morcha—Binoy Tamang and Anit Thapa—and alleged that there had been corruption in various sectors in the Hills. “It is now time to check the accounts of all this,” he said.

Mr Gurung said he will go to the Hills in a few days’ time. Meanwhile, the sprawling Maidan overflowed with people who had gathered there from various parts of the Hills, Dooars and the plains, while organisers claimed that the “unprecedented footfall” in the rally was over 1,20,000.