Gangtok: Former Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling accused the current Prem Singh Golay-led Sikkim Krantikari Morcha of major corruption, claiming Sikkim has become a (Ham) ‘Eating Rajya’ instead of ‘Ram Rajya’. Putting the corruption into numbers, Chamling claimed, “In our 25 years of government, we ran with revenue amounting to Rs 61,000 Crores, but in three years, the SKM has gulped down over Rs 53,000 Crores already. They have taken a loan amounting to Rupees 10,500 Crores at 14 per cent interest.”
Chamling was making a rare public address on the occasion of his Sikkim Democratic Front’s ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas’ at its party office in Gangtok on Wednesday. In his two-hour-long address on the occasion, Chamling shared, “99 per cent of Sikkimese people feel insecure in Sikkim: both rich and poor, SKM and SDF supporters. They feel insecure about law and order issues first, followed by economically, socially, politically and even environmentally. There is a specific one per cent of people belonging as executives of the party. They along with a club of 20 businessmen from outside Sikkim are churning all of Sikkim’s money outside of the State. I feel sad to see that not merely the larger Sikkimese public, but those supporters of the SKM party, who devotedly brought Golay to power, hoping to get some benefits for themselves. The government has become an agent of outside businessmen, none of our people meets him (Chief Minister Prem Singh Golay).”
Chamling also spoke on the recent Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) scam, wherein he stated, “It is obvious that the current government doesn’t see it as a major problem. But the problem that will arise because of the scam is soon the central government sees how Sikkim is becoming home to billions of dollars in a scam. Our income tax exemption may get compromised. When our income tax exemption is taken away imagine how much it will affect our people? The privileges that our government employees are earning will all be taken away.”
He came down heavily on government employees, claiming, “They may have developed Alzheimer’s disease, as they have quickly forgotten how our government ensured that government employees are well paid, well-respected sections of the society. They side with the current government and put all the blames on our government in the past. They are still getting the benefits that we ensured during our regime. In 25 years, Sikkim was not destroyed; we made Sikkim what it is today.”
On losing major party executives and cadres, Chamling said that SDF has now been cleansed of individuals who were with us only for their benefits. “Now they are siding with the party where they see their benefits. The most corrupt to the utmost rejects of the party have all sided with the ruling front now. They all appear to be leaders there, sidelining the SKM cadres who struggled for decades. It appears that in 2024 elections, it will be a contest between a party that has all the leaders (SKM) against our party which has all the people.”
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