SIKKIM OBSERVER Saturday   March 23-29,  2013    

Dalai Lama to visit Sikkim, Siliguri next week

Gangtok, March 22: The Dalai Lama yesterday left Dharamsala for a five-day visit of Sikkim and West Bengal.

The Dalai Lama will lead a Vajrakilaya consecration prayer for a new Buddha statue followed by the official inauguration ceremony of the statue in Ravangla, South Sikkim, on Monday.

On Monday afternoon the Tibetan spiritual leader will give a teaching on Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo’s Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva (gyalsey laklen sodunma).

On Tuesday, His Holiness will confer White Tara Long Life Empowerment (Dolker Jenang Tsewang) and the State Government and Tibetan Communities in Ravangla will offer the long-life prayer ceremony (Tenshug) to His Holiness. He is expected to arrive in Gangtok on Tuesday evening.

On the final leg of the visit, the 77-year-old Tibetan leader will visit Salugura, Siliguri (West Bengal), where he is scheduled to give teachings on Tsong Khapa’s Concise Stages for the Path to Enlightenment (Lamrim Dudon) and Longchen Rabjam's Relaxing the Mind Itself (Sem-nyid Nyesol).

On March 29, His Holiness will confer an Avalokiteshvara Initiation (Chenresig Wangchen) and will return to Dharamshala on March 30.

The Tibetan leader last visited Sikkim in December 2010 and spent two days in retreat at Tashiding monastery premises, the most sacred place for Sikkimese Buddhist, in West Sikkim.

Give top priority to connectivity in North Sikkim, High Court tells BRO, BSNL

Gangtok, March 22: The Sikkim High Court has directed the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and BSNL to give top priority to road and telecom connectivity to the backward tribal region of North Sikkim.

Acting Chief Justice SP Wangdi has asked the two agencies to take “all possible measures, be it technical or financial” to ensure that road and telecom connectivity in North District are restored at the earliest.

Noting that the Bhutia-Lepcha tribals in the remote district have been continuously facing various problems due to poor road and telecom connectivity, Justice Wangdi asked the two agencies to give top priority to this problem and address the issues with the seriousness it deserves.

Justice Wangdi’s direction came during a hearing of a petition here on Wednesday filed by the Pipon and public of Lachung, North Sikkim.

Residents of Lachung were forced to approach the court as the two organizations have ignored the problems of the people and neglected the region, which borders China.

The court had made the Telecom Ministry as a respondent as BSNL comes under its jurisdiction. Telecom Ministry and BSNL have been asked to file a compliance report by April 18.

Editorial

CBI THREAT ON DMK

Congress Bureau of Investigation Strikes

There could have been a patch-up between the UPA and its ally DMK after the latter withdrew support to the Congress-led government at the Centre on the issue of human rights violation of Tamils in Sri Lanka. But with the CBI raids on DMK leader MK Stalin’s residence in Chennai this week immediate reconciliation seems impossible. Though the CBI’s raid was done in connection with a case related to  illegal import of luxury cars Stalin, whose father is DMK leader M. Karunanidhi, has denied wrongdoing. DMK leader TR Baalu’s allegation that the raid, which took place on Thursday, was politically motivated due to the DMK's decision on Tuesday to pull out of the Congress-led national coalition government will surely have more prominent people in the opposition to back his allegation. In fact, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told local news channels on Thursday that he "disapproved" of the CBI raid on Stalin's home. He said it will “be misunderstood." Kamal Nath, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, also condemned the timing of the raid.

The timing of the raids, which effectively seems like a thinly veiled threat, appears to point to the usual Congress stratagem of turning the screws on regional leaders in order to secure political support for its survival at the Centre. The coalition government still can muster a majority of votes in Parliament even after the DMK's exit, which means it will be unlikely to face a no-confidence vote. There are enough indications that Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, who is one of the accused in the 2G spectrum case, may face another jail term – and even see her properties attached – if they file a chargesheet against her under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It is also learnt that the chargesheet against Kanimozhi and A Raja is being drafted and will likely be filed early next month. These are indeed veiled threats to UPA supporters such as Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, who also face graft charges. Indeed, the BJP on Thursday alleged that the ruling Congress Party is using every means to muffle the alliance partners, who plan to abandon them. It said the government has been misusing the CBI to survive in government. It said that its allegation that the Central Bureau of Investigation is actually the Congress Bureau of Investigation has now been confirmed.

Thailand aims to enhance bilateral trade with India

Guwahati, March 22: Thailand is aiming to increase its bilateral trade with India to $16 billion by 2014 and is looking at the North Eastern region as a major hub for investment.   

   "Over the last 15 years bilateral trade between Thailand and India grew substantially reaching USD 8.2 billion in 2011 and "It is expected that this upward trend would be able to reach about USD 16 billion by 2014," permanent representative of Thailand in the Prime Minister's Office Nalinee Taveesin said.

She was speaking at a dinner meeting organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here on Sunday evening, PTI reported.

She said the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement has created lot of opportunities for both sides to increase their bilateral trade and said her country is keen to increase its engagement with the North Eastern region.

"The governments of Thailand and India have the shared vision to bring the people of the two countries even more close. Under the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) framework, Thailand's 'Look West' policy meets with and perfectly complements India's 'Look East' policy and that's why Myanmar holds such crucial role as it shares borders with both Thailand and India.

"On a macro-economic front, Thailand, Myanmar and India have long enjoyed a close trade and investment relation and there has been close cultural ties since the 13th century (with the North Eastern region of India)," she said.

Taveesin said closer ties between India, Myanmar and Thailand will also help to strengthen trade and investment ties among all the member states of BIMSTEC and ASEAN and "deliver greater benefits to the whole business community in South East Asia and South Asia".

Taveesin said efforts to increase connectivity between India and ASEAN region is a win-win situation for both sides. "In terms of investment, Thailand ranks 36th among the largest investors in India with a cumulative FDI outflow of USD 94.8 million or about 0.06% of India's total FDI, it is mostly in machinery, feed and livestock products and construction.

"India has invested almost USD 460.2  million in Thailand mostly in chemical, paper, metal products, light industries, plastic products, auto and auto components," she said.

Regarding her government's efforts to increase trade ties with the North Eastern states, Taveesin said that "there is an wide open door for closer cooperation in numerous fields such as agriculture, forestry, mining, energy, hydro-power and eco-tourism."

She said: "North East India has been regarded by members of the business community in Thailand as a very important and attractive market and as a promising and welcoming investment destination.

"And combining these trends of North East India with Thailand, this powerful cooperation will certainly form a potential sub-regional hub with a gigantic market place full of opportunities with possibilities for investors, traders and people from India, Myanmar and Thailand."