Gangtok: Former Lok Sabha Member of Parliament and SDF leader Prem Das Rai has announced that former Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling will be attending the upcoming Assembly session on February 9.
Chamling will be entering the Assembly after the inaugural Assembly session of SKM government in 2019.
Addressing media over the stone pelting incident at SDF party office earlier in the day, Rai said, “Our President will take part in the Assembly as a legislator and try to bring the voices of the people to the Assembly, provided he is given that opportunity. We have seen in the past that he is either shouted down or not given an opportunity to speak and all kinds of allegations are made. So, I would request the new Speaker (Arun Upreti) of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly to ensure that all legislators are given an equal chance to present their views as this is an important debate.”
Chamling is the sitting legislator from Namchi Singhithang constituency in Namchi District and has marked his absence in the Assembly since he was heckled out during the inaugural Assembly session in 2019.
Welcoming the Assembly session on February 9, Rai said, “We do hope that better sense will prevail. Present situation has been heightened by the Supreme Court judgement delivered on January 13. The foreigners tag has made matters worse in Sikkim, it needs to be addressed both legally and politically.”
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Speaking on the stone pelting incident, Rai stated, “The miscreants who were motivated were shouting slogans against the former chief minister, who was inside his residence next to the SDF party office. At least 150 of them started pelting stones around 11:20 am.”.
“Today our offices were also vandalised. Luckily no one was injured. But it sends a very wrong message as it was done in the presence of some police personnel. This is condemnable in the strongest of words,” the former MP said.
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