GANGTOK: Former Sikkim CM and chief of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) party – Pawan Chamling has claimed that Article 371F was ‘violated’.
SDF supremo Pawan Chamling has said that the people of Sikkim feel betrayed as Article 371F was ‘violated’.
The former chief minister of Sikkim made this claim in an interview to news agency PTI.
Notably, Article 371F of the Constitution guarantees special provisions for Sikkim.
According to Article 371F, only the descendants of Sikkim subjects (those who lived in the state before its merger with India) whose names were mentioned in the 1961 register are Sikkimese with rights to own land, get state government jobs.
They were also exempted from paying income tax.
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“But now, the Financial Bill, 2023 redefines Sikkimese as any Indian citizen domiciled in Sikkim, extending to them the same benefits as that of the original inhabitants whose forefathers’ names were in the 1961 register,” Chamling said.
“This violates Article 371F, which was the basis for the merger of Sikkim with India in 1975. People of Sikkim feel betrayed as the special provisions extended to them have been taken away,” he said.
Former Sikkim CM and SDF chief Pawan Chamling has also demanded imposition of President’s rule in the Himalayan state.
He said that President’s rule in Sikkim has become a necessity to ensure free and fair elections in 2024.
The former Sikkim CM made this demand while saying that the state has become a hotbed for political violence.
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Chamling claimed that politics in Sikkim has become ‘violent’ after the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) government came to power in 2019.
“If the Centre and the ECI want next year’s elections to be free and fair in Sikkim they must impose President’s Rule in the state before the polls,” he said.
It may be mentioned here that assembly elections in Sikkim will be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.