Sikkim CM allays special status worry Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) assuaged concerns over dilution of the state’s special status enshrined through article 371F

Prem Singh Tamang at the Siliguri Greater Lions Eye Hospital on Wednesday Picture by Passang Yolmo

Binita Paul, TT, 8 August 2019, Siliguri: Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) on Wednesday assuaged concerns over dilution of the state’s special status, enshrined through article 371F even as he appreciated the Centre’s move of stripping Jammu and Kashmir of the special privileges and carving out two Union territories from the hill state.

“The decision of abrogating Articles 370 and 35A is fully appreciating. I want to congratulate the Prime minister and the Union home minister. This decision is for the betterment of India… Sikkim heartily supports things which are for the interest of our nation,” said Tamang, who was here to visit the Siliguri Greater Lions Eye Hospital.

Sikkim, which was annexed back in 1975 into India, enjoys a special status like some other states of northeast under the sub-sections of Article 371. In northeast, while Sikkim is covered under Article 371F, the states of Nagaland and Mizoram enjoy special status under Articles 371A and 371G while Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh have similar special status under Articles 371C and 371H respectively.

After the centre stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special privileges earlier this week, there have been concerns among a section of people in north eastern states on whether they can continue to enjoy the privileges enshrined in the Indian constitution.

Amid this phase of uncertainty on what’s going to happen next, an old topic – merger of Darjeeling hills with Sikkim – has also started doing the rounds.

Originally floated by the Gorkha Rashtriya Congress and the Darjeeling Sikkim Ekikaran Manch, the proponents of this thought think that a merger can expedite economic and social development of Darjeeling hills, as Sikkim, along with the northeast states, are provided with special benefits, including additional allocation of central funds for infrastructural development and tax rebates.

Tamang (Golay), when asked on the issue, ruled out any such probability. “Sikkim is a different state and it is protected by the article 371F and it has its own provisions. There is no question of merging Sikkim with Darjeeling,” the chief minister said.

He was also evasive on the separate statehood demand for Darjeeling and said the matter was a prerogative of the Centre and the Bengal government.

Speaking about his state, which is located at the India-China border, Tamang (Golay) said his government has taken the task to build an alternative highway that would connect Sikkim.