Rally held to demand Sikkim defectors' exit

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, 19 Aug 2019, Gangtok: A procession was taken out here on Sunday to call for the resignation of 12 MLAs who had defected from the Sikkim Democratic Front to other parties.

The march was held under the banner of Citizens' Forum of Sikkim, but was primarily organised by the Sikkim Progressive Youth Forum (SPYF), an NGO which espouses various issues concerning people. The march started from near Amdo Golai and culminated in front of the East Sikkim district collector's office.

"Defectors resign" was the plain and simple message of the protesters as they shouted slogans against the "defection" and "horse trading". Some prominent activists and a solitary politician in Bharat Basnet, the president of the Sikkim Congress, also attended the rally.

N. B. Ghimirey, a member The rally in Gangtok on Sunday of the SPYF, said the en masse defection of the MLAs was a day-light murder of democracy and flagrant violation of mandate of the people. "The Constitution has given us the right to vote and we vote for a party on the basis of its programmes. Such defections are an abuse of the mandate of the people. A party which secured less than two per cent of the votes has today become the main opposition party in the state," he said, referring to the 10 MLAs who defected to the BJP.

The other two MLAs have joined the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha. Owing to the reduced strength of the Assembly, SDF had 13 MLAs to SKM's 16 prior to the defection of the former's legislators.

Another protester feared if such unethical defections were to carry on unabated, there could be a situation where a party could come to power with less the two per cent of the popular vote. "Where is the guarantee that the BJP will not become the ruling party? And if that happens, it will be a murder of democracy. We are not opposed to the BJP, but it must come to power after securing the mandate of the people," said U. Bhandari.

Others said Sikkim risked losing its special constitutional status provided by Article 371F of the Constitution in the hands of "unprincipled" leaders..