Gangtok: More legislators who defected from the Sikkim Democratic Front in August 2019 to join the Bharatiya Janata Party and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha Party accused lone SDF MLA and former CM Pawan Kumar Chamling of “trying to gain sympathy claiming to have been betrayed.”
In his valedictory address, Chief Minister Prem Singh Golay backed the BJP legislators of having done nothing wrong by joining the BJP.
Ten legislators joined the BJP while 2 legislators: Em Prasad Sharma and GayTshering Dhungel joined the SKM in August 2019.
In their respective valedictory address on the final day of the budget session of Sikkim Legislative Assembly on Saturday, SKM legislator Em Prasad Sharma along with BJP legislators Farwanti Tamang, Raj Kumari Thapa, Karma Sonam Lepcha accused Chamling of taking them to Delhi to join BJP. Chamling was absent on the final day of the budget session.
MLA Em Prasad Sharma stated, “When the SDF failed to form the government it was the former CM who urged us to join other parties, telling us to go Delhi. Both I and Upper Tadong MLA GT Dhungel opposed the decision and urged the party leader to remain as a strong opposition. But he brought a resolution in the party for all legislators to join BJP. When the rest of the SDF legislators decided to join BJP, SDF had even declared former Minister Garjaman Gurung to be the new SDF President in Chamling’s absence.”
On joining the SKM, Sharma shared, “Knowing, we had our respective constituency and public to answer to, we separated ourselves from the SDF party. When our thoughts clashed with Chamling, we both wrote to Chief Minister Prem Singh Golay stating that we wanted to join the SKM party. We didn’t join for any personal gains nor did he make us any personal promises, he welcomed us for the general good of the public.”
BJP legislator Raj Kumari Thapa accused Chamling to have even written in the SDF party’s letterhead to BJP leader Ram Madhav in Delhi. The legislator from the Rangang-Yangang constituency revealed, “We were taken to a hotel in Delhi around first week of June 2019, then to Ladakh as our phones were unreachable there. We were missing out on the first Assembly session happening at the same time here in Sikkim. Chamling wrote to BJP leader Ram Madhav on the SDF party’s letterhead, that is how our joining process began and on August 13, we became BJP legislators. Even our BJP State President legislator Dilli Ram Thapa knows everything.”
MLA Thapa went on to accuse Chamling of spreading rumours, she stated, “He (Chamling) tried to tarnish our image, our self-respect accusing us of having been sold to BJP for Rs 10 Crores. He is trying to portray that we betrayed him, we have stayed shut from his allegations when even the public in respective constituencies urges us to speak the truth. Chamling continues to spread such rumours, he has been lying here in Assembly as well claiming we betrayed him, it was he who betrayed us and the people.”
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Similar accusations were made against Chamling by BJP legislators Farwanti Tamang from the Melli constituency and Karma Sonam Lepcha from the Rinchenpong constituency, both of whom accused Chamling of ‘trying to gain public sympathy claiming to have been left alone as SDF MLA’.
Later in his valedictory address, Chief Minister Prem Singh Golay said, “The MLAs who went to BJP have done nothing wrong, we (SKM) have a post-election alliance with BJP. I promised the BJP legislators every support. We didn’t differentiate constituencies based on their party affiliation and leaders. There was no vindication against them to make them redundant legislators. I condemn the allegations made against BJP MLAs by the former Chief Minister who ruled us for 25 years.”
Also Read | Sikkim: What’s the ‘diamond mine’ Golay & Chamling are debating?
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