Sikkimese Nepali foreigners row: HM Amit Shah assures intervention

The people of Sikkim are an integral and essential part of India and the Constitutional provision for the people of Sikkim shall be protected, said HM Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured a delegation led by BJP state president DR Thapa, members of Joint Action Committee and Sikkimey Nagarik Samaj that the Finance and Home Ministries will file a review plea before the Supreme Court to seek clarity on the term Sikkimese in line with the Constitutional provisions.

The assurance came after the team apprised Home Minister Amit Shah about the issue of the ‘Foreigners tag’ to Sikkimese Nepali and the distortion of the definition of ‘Sikkimese’ as a result of the recent Supreme Court observation.

The people of Sikkim are an integral and essential part of India. And the Constitutional provision for the people of Sikkim shall be protected, HM Shah told the delegation, said sources.

Furthermore, the Home Minister urged the people of Sikkim to maintain peace and harmony in the state and advised political parties to refrain from attempting to take political mileage out of this sensitive issue.

Earlier, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said that Centre would help the state government by submitting a review petition to the Supreme Court. The state government has already filed a review petition in the apex court on the matter.

It may be mentioned that there were several protests against the language used in the court order and the “use of foreigner tag” for the Sikkimese-Nepali community who are over 78 per cent of the population of Sikkim.

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