Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, after leading an all-party delegation to New Delhi and submitting a joint memorandum to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for withdrawal of Central Tax Laws, expressed satisfaction with the warm response from the Centre. He also expressed his deep gratitude to the leaders of the Sikkim’s political parties, namely Sangram Parishad chief Narbahadur Bhandari, Congress president Namkha Gyaltsen, Sikkim BJP president K.C. Pradhan and Sikkim unit secretary of CPM Anjan Upadhya, who signed the memorandum and supported the joint demand urging withdrawal or review of the extension and enforcement of Central Tax Laws in Sikkim.

 In a statement on his visit to Delhi, Mr. Chamling said, “it was the sacred duty of every Sikkimese to protect the unique identity of the Sikkimese people and the sanctity of the Article 371F of the Constitution that offers special status to Sikkim as a ‘promise’ made during the time of Sikkim’s merger with India in 1975. Any violation of the letter and spirit of the Article could lead to unrest in Sikkim.” “Our main demand and concern has been protecting the special status of Sikkim and the privilege it enjoys under Article 371F. Any violation of the provision of the Article would amount to violation of the sanctity of the Constitution. We want to avoid that at any cost,” he said. Mr. Chamling said, “My Government is opposed to the implementation of Direct Tax Laws in Sikkim, as it directly hurts the interests of the people. At the same time, the Government of India had promised to give special status to Sikkim under Article 371F as it had given special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution.”

 Claiming support of other political parties, Mr. Chamling further said that the president of Sikkim Sangram Parishad, Narbahadur Bhandari assured that he would fully endorse and support whatever the Chief Minister had submitted. Mr. Bhandari also reminded that in the year 1994, his government was brought down on the same sensitive issue of extension of Central Tax Laws to Sikkim. President of SPCC (I) Namkha Gyaltsen said that old laws of Sikkim should be protected. Secretary of CPM Sikkim Unit Anjan Upadhya stated that Sikkim’s demand to protect its old laws should be sympathetically considered.

 But the claim of the support of all the political parties in the State was somewhat diluted by the fact that a different tune was sung by Narbahadur Bhandari in his press conference. However, Mr. Chamling put up a brave face and said it was Bhandari’s old habit, and sometimes ‘old habit dies hard,’ but it will die ultimately.

 Mr. Chamling also informed that Prime Minister Vajpayee gave a patient hearing to all the speakers and assured them that the Centre would consider Sikkim’s demands and take a final decision after due consultation with the Chief Minister and his government. The Prime Minister also appreciated the bold step taken by the State Government to withdraw the Income Tax case from the Supreme Court.

 Meanwhile, the Sikkim unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)        has also submitted a similar kind     of  memorandum to the Centre.   The State unit of the party has claimed that the Centre had   assured to sympathetically look into the demands.
     
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