PRASHANT ACHARYA
BAGDOGRA
12 Sep 2013
Members of the Tamang and Limbu
communities of Sikkim today accorded a grand welcome to chief minister
Pawan Kumar Chamling at Bagdogra Airport as he announced the union home
minister has assured of providing them reservation in the state
Assembly.
“I met union home minister Sushil Kumar
Sindhe and demanded reservation for the tribes of Sikkim under section
330 of the Constitution and the number of Assembly seats to be increased
to 40 for the development of the state,” informed Chamling.
A sizeable crowd comprising members of
the Tamang, Limbu and other tribal communities were waiting at the
airport with khadas and garlands to welcome the chief minister. Casting
aside security concerns, Chamling walked up to the crowd and accepted
with the happy faces.
He said 12 seats have been reserved for
the Bhutia-Lepcha communities, but the tribal tag is not mentioned and
therefore, it is necessary to reserve separate seats for the Limbus,
Tamangs and other tribal communities.
“The state has no power to provide
separate seats for these tribal communities and it is subject to
discussion in Parliament. But it is not only my responsibility and the
central government should take the matter seriously and think for the
tribal communities of Sikkim. An amendment to the People’s
Representation Act of 1950 is necessary to implement the separate seat
provision,” explained the chief minister.
When asked about preparations for the
assembly election in 2014, Chamling said he is making serious efforts,
but the fact is he keeps faith in results.
He said, “The results will tell because I
believe in the people and power is in their hands; without people
nothing can be done. The people of Sikkim are well versed with my
leadership, my government’s policies, programmes and so on that I have
proved through my work and now I have left the decision in the hands of
the people.”
Meanwhile, commenting on the resignation of SDF MLA PS Golay, Chamling said he has not received any resignation letter.
“I have not yet received any resignation
letter from his side; I came to know through the media about his
resignation,” he said, adding Golay was never active in the party.
When asked if the anti-defection law
would be imposed on Golay, Chamling said the party would decide on this
once his resignation letter is received.
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