SKM rider for tie-up: Sincerity to oust SDF

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, 29 Nov 2018, Gangtok: The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha on Wednesday iterated that it was in favour of a tie-up with any party which was honestly in favour of ending the Sikkim Democratic Front's around 25 years of rule.

SKM spokesman Jacob Khaling told a press conference in the party office here that the only condition for the tie-up would be allies' commitment to a regime change. "We have held talks with other parties. Such dialogues will continue. In politics, anything is possible," he said.

Both the Bhaichung Bhutia-led nascent Hamro Sikkim Party and the Sikkim unit of the BJP have evinced interest in having a pre-poll alliance with the SKM. The two parties between them have already begun talks to explore the possibility of a tie-up before the parliamentary and Assembly elections scheduled next year.

Khaling also announced that SKP president P. S. Golay would embark on the first phase of the party's "Pariwartan Sankalp Yatra" from Daramdim in West Sikkim on Thursday. "The objective of the yatra is to meet the people in their own backyards, interact with them and get a first-hand knowledge about their problems," he said.

SDF on `migrant'slur In a separate press conference held earlier, the SDF sought to close the chapter on the old controversy over the alleged insult felt by the Sikkimese of Nepali origin when the Supreme Court referred to them as "migrants from Nepal' while detailing the historical background of Sikkim in a 1993 verdict.

Bhim Dahal, the SDF spokesman, said the since the time of the apex court's reference, many events had taken place that put to rest the issue.

"The aboriginal status of the Sikkimese Nepalese has been established by the recog- nition of the Limbus and Tamangs as the Scheduled Tribes. In the same manner, the exemption of the Central Income Tax Act for those holding the Sikkim subject certificates and their progenies further establishes the Sikkimese status of the Nepalese. We can proudly say we are Sikkimese Indians. Our party has established that," he said.

Sikkim subject holders, including those belonging to the Nepali, Bhutia and Lepcha communities, are those who been living in Sikkim since the time it was a sovereign country before its merger with India in 1975. They do not have to pay Income Tax since the state enjoys special constitutional privileges under Article 371F.

On Tuesday, Bhaichung had accused the SDF of not delivering on its 25-year-old promise to get the migrant insult expunged from the Supreme Court verdict, and had said his party would approach the apex court to get it removed..