A ten-member delegation of Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) met Union Tribal Affairs minister Jual Oram in Delhi with their long-pending demand of Limboo-Tamang Assembly seats and tribal status for the 11 left out Nepali communities of Sikkim.
A statement issued by the SKM on Sunday disclosed this while adding that the ‘minister was very positive in his response’ and has assured the delegation that the Centre was ‘sympathetic’ towards the demands of the Sikkimese people and that work in the ‘said matter was in progress’.
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The statement further added that the minister exuded confidence that the efforts put in by SKM would bear positive results in the near future.
The SKM release also stated that Oram mentioned that the ‘Delimitation Commission was the correct forum where the issue for Limboo-Tamang seat reservation should have been raised’.
The minister mentioned that ‘had the State Government approached the Delimitation Commission with the Limboo-Tamang seat reservation issue during delimitation of constituencies in 2006, the Limboo-Tamang seats in Sikkim Legislative Assembly would have been a reality today,’ the SKM statement further read.
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The SKM contended that it was due to the ‘short-sighted approach and irresponsible attitude’ of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) government that the Limboo-Tamang reservation in the Assembly ‘has been delayed’ and ‘keeping the Limboo-Tamang communities deprived of their political rights’.
SKM working president M P Subba led the delegation.
The delegation also met Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju in New Delhi later on Sunday with the two demands.
Later in the day, the delegation also submitted a similar memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office. The delegation is also scheduled to meet other Central leaders including those from the opposition parties to apprise them of the demands pending with the Centre in relation to the State of Sikkim.