Sikkim CM challenges opposition to prove Art 371F is diluted

Gangtok: Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Friday challenged opposition parties to prove that Article 371F of the constitution which guarantees special provisions for the Himalayan state was diluted.

Asserting that though the definition of the Sikkimese people has been expanded under a central law, Article 371F remains intact, he said adding that he will resign if proven wrong.

Tamang's predecessor and Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) president Pawan Kumar Chamling recently claimed that people of the northeastern state feel betrayed as Art 371F was “violated”.

According to the Article, only the descendants of Sikkim subjects (those who lived in the state before its merger with India in 1975) whose names were mentioned in the 1961 register are Sikkimese with rights to own land and get state government jobs. They were also exempted from paying income tax.

Chamling had claimed that the Financial Bill, 2023 redefined Sikkimese as any Indian citizen domiciled in Sikkim, extending to them the same benefits as enjoyed by the original inhabitants.

"I challenge all those who are spreading rumours saying that 371F is over,” Tamang said while addressing the Ambedkar Jayanti function here.

“If people without Certificate of Identification and Sikkim Subject Certificate apply for the post of Assistant Director (IT) as advertised by Sikkim Public Service Commission and if those applications are accepted, I will resign along with the entire cabinet," he said.

The SDF of Chamling, Hamro Sikkim Party of legendary footballer Bhaichung Bhutia and the Joint Action Council, a civil society organisation, are opposed to the expansion of the definition of Sikkimese people, alleging that Article 371F has been diluted forever.

Chamling had earlier hinted that this will be an issue in the assembly election due in 2024.

“People are very angry over the issue. We have a very small population of only 6-7 lakh and we fear we will be swamped by settlers within 2-3 years,” the SDF president who ruled the state for 25 years had told PTI in an interview earlier this month.

Tamang had earlier said in a Facebook post that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during a recent meeting, assured him that the amendment was only related to income tax exemption and that the original definition of Sikkimese will always be respected.

The Sikkim Assembly on April 10 passed a resolution seeking clarification from the Centre on the expansion of the definition of Sikkimese in the recently passed Finance Act, 2023.

Analysts feel the main concern of Sikkim’s politicians is that land rights which are now enjoyed by only those Sikkimese whose parents were subjects of the erstwhile Chogyal kingdom will be extended to any Indian domiciled in the Himalayan state.