Golay proposes all-party committee to ensure conservation of Article 371F

IPR, GANGTOK, APRIL 10, 2023 :Chief Minister of Sikkim Prem Singh Tamang said in the Sikkim Assembly on Monday that the recent amendments in the Finance Act did not attack the sanctity of Article 371F which safeguards the rights of the Sikkimese people. 

The essence of Article 371F has remained intact, he said. The Union Finance Minister herself had assured this during his recent visit to her office in New Delhi. 

The Chief Minister reiterated that the Union Finance Minister herself had assured the people of Sikkim that the definition of Sikkimese Lepcha, Sikkimese Bhutia, and Sikkimese Nepali would always be respected and that it had neither been touched nor would it ever be touched or changed. 

Assurances had also been extended from the President of India to the Solicitor General of India that the amendments to the Finance Act would not impinge on the definition of  "Sikkimese," he stated. 

The Chief Minister informed that the amendments had been made in pursuance of the judgement of the Supreme Court and added that it encompassed the purpose of income tax only, keeping the sanctity of Article 371F intact. 

He cited a few examples of previous cases pertaining to Sikkimese identity wherein the verdicts pronounced by the Supreme Court had honoured the respectful entitlement of Sikkimese identity that the special constitutional provisions under Article 371F had always protected. 

He requested the Speaker, Sikkim Legislative Assembly for setting up an all-party committee consisting of a delegation of every political party of the State to ensure the conservation of Article 371F and the safety of the Sikkimese people as a whole.