The recently passed Finance Finance Bill 2023 2023 has now become an Act on 31-March-2023 after the signature of the President of India and published in the Gazette of India. It has severely diluted the safety net of Sikkim which is Article 371F. The amendment has added two new categories to the definition of Sikkimese, completely taking away the special identity of Sikkimese.
The BJP and SKM, both parties of the double-engine government, are equally responsible for this dilution of Article 371F. This act has betrayed the trust of the people of Sikkim and has undermined their cultural and social identity. By diluting Article 371F, the BJP and SKM have disrespected the historical significance of Sikkim’s merger with India in 1975.
It all started when the State and Central Governments gave the NOC to the Supreme Court of India to extend the definition of Sikkimese. Their NOC and ignorance had also caused a foreigner tag on the Sikkimese Nepali community for which they apologized in the Supreme court but never apologized to the people of Sikkim. Instead, they shamelessly celebrated “Vijay Diwas” for diluting Article 371F. After the NOC, the Finance Minister of the BJP bulldozed the Finance Bill in Parliament without any discussion. First time in the History of India, the ruling party i.e the BJP was itself disrupting the Parliament. The SKM MP didn’t oppose the Bill, and didn’t even write an application to hold on to this particular amendment.
In light of these developments, we demand all BJP and SKM MLAs to resign from their posts immediately. They have lost the moral right to represent the people of Sikkim, and their actions have left the people of Sikkim vulnerable to exploitation and marginalisation. The people of Sikkim should stop at all costs the lateral entry and back door entry of BJP in Sikkim using the money and muscle power and by using greedy politicians who want to hang on to power even after getting convicted in a corruption case.
Sikkim deserves representatives who truly understand and represent their interests. We believe that the people of Sikkim deserve a government that respects and upholds their unique cultural identity and heritage.
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