Sikkim: CAP President Ganesh Rai Claims ‘Hidden Agenda’ Behind CM Tamang’s Meeting on ST Status in West Bengal

The meeting was attended by Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, MLA Niraj Zimba, as well as Sikkim MPs, MLAs, and cabinet ministers.

The Citizen Action Party-Sikkim (CAP) has strongly criticised the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang in West Bengal on Sunday and said that there is a “big game” going on behind the scenes.

Party president Ganesh Rai alleged that the meeting was purportedly organized to address the demand for Scheduled Tribal status for the left-out 12 communities of Sikkim and Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA), West Bengal but, “Somewhere, a big game is going on. The demand for Scheduled Tribal status for the left-out 12 communities of Sikkim and Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA), West Bengal is long pending. But CM Tamang chairing a meeting addressing the issue without any representative of the West Bengal Government is questionable. They have some hidden agenda. The meeting was just to make an impression as if it was to address the needs of these communities,” said Ganesh Rai.

The CAP alleged that the meeting, aimed at discussing Scheduled Tribe status for 12 left-out communities, but representatives from the West Bengal Government and the Gorkha Territorial Administration were not present in the meeting.

The meeting was attended by Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, MLA Niraj Zimba, as well as Sikkim MPs, MLAs, and cabinet ministers.

Senior Leader of CAP, T. R Sharma also questioned the role of CM Tamang and cabinet members in the meeting.

T R Sharma said, “We want immediate clarification from the state leadership. There is a hidden agenda behind the gathering.”

Sharma further questioned whether the SKM government is laying the groundwork for a possible Sikkim-Darjeeling merger.

The party leader said that since Darjeeling MP Raju Bista has already raised the proposal for merging Sikkim and Darjeeling, the Chief Minister’s presence in the meeting is fuelling the suspicions.

“Hosting such discussions in a different state, with leaders who have openly backed the creation of a new state, sends a clear and dangerous signal Sikkim’s autonomy and statehood are at risk, not from outside forces, but from within, possibly from our own elected government,” Sharma added.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, a Joint Action Committee (JAC) was formed to advocate for tribal status for 12 left-out communities from Sikkim and 11 from Darjeeling.

The committee comprises nine members, with five representing Sikkim and four from Darjeeling.

The announcement of a Joint Action Committee came following a crucial coordination meeting in Siliguri chaired by Sikkim Chief Minister PS Tamang and attended by leaders from both Sikkim and Darjeeling.

Also read: Big Setback to SDF in Sikkim: 43 Leaders, Including Ashish Rai and G M Gurung Resign, Likely to Join Ruling SKM

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