GANGTOK,: The Joint Action Council (JAC) on Saturday held a daylong all-party
meeting at Gangtok over major political issues of Sikkim including expansion of
Sikkimese definition in Finance Act 2023, reservation of all Assembly seats for
Sikkimese, tribal status for the left-out communities, demography change,
political violence and safeguard of Article 371F.
Addressing
the meeting, BJP spokesperson Passang Sherpa reiterated that the State BJP has
been vocal against the Sikkimese definition expansion and is continuously
approaching the Central leadership on the issue. The BJP government in the
Centre had advocated against the Sikkimese definition expansion during the
hearings in the Supreme Court but it happened due to the State government’s
negligence, he said.
Sherpa
added that the State BJP is committed to the tribal status demand of the
left-out communities of Sikkim, contending that this genuine demand is still
pending due to lack of a strong leadership in the State. The BJP has always
been vocal on protection of Article 371F and people of Sikkim now has to rise
above regional parties and vote BJP to power so that the major pending issues
are addressed, he said.
The State
BJP spokesperson added that the party is strongly in favour of Inner Line
Permit system in the State to protect the local communities from rising influx.
Similarly,
CAP Sikkim working president (press & publicity) MB Limboo shared that the
important issues of Sikkim including those being discussed in the all-party
meeting today have been incorporated in the party’s election manifesto. We are
confident that CAP Sikkim can address these issues, he said. He also spoke
about the pending Limboo-Tamang seat reservation issue and stated that the CAP
Sikkim is committed to provide justice to the Limboo-Tamang communities and
also to the left-out communities by delivering the ST status, he said.
On the
demography change issue, Limboo submitted that it is due to economic imbalance,
adding that economic reforms as advocated by the CAP Sikkim would address this
issue along with other problems that the State is facing. Our politics of no
flags and no slogans would greatly help in tackling political violence in
Sikkim, he said, urging the people to vote consciously in the crucial 2024
election.
JAC
convener Deepak Tiwari, at the outset, said the meeting today is a continuation
of the organisation’s efforts to bring all the political parties together on
important issues pertaining to Sikkim and Sikkimese.
