The Sikkim cabinet has approved a proposal asking for the declaration of the indigenous Lepcha community of Sikkim as a primitive tribe on January 29. Lepchas are the lowest in population among the three tribes of Sikkim, the Bhutias, Lepchas and Nepalis and constitute about 8 per cent of the 6 lakh population of the state. Dzongu of North Sikkim is a region reserved for them.

State Congress president Nar Bahadur Bhandari however decried this as a political gimmick.

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