SIKKIM OBSERVER Saturday   July 27-Aug 2,  2013    

DN Nepal writes to Home Ministry, seeks asylum in ‘third country’

Gangtok, July 26: Sikkim Liberation Party (SLP) chief Duknath Nepal has added another dimension to the controversy generated by old settlers’ petition in the Supreme Court on the income tax issue. He has urged the Centre to allow him to seek asylum in a ‘third country.’

In his latest letter to the Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Nepal said he would rather live in a third country than to live in indignity in India.

Nepal, also editor of Shangrila Times, a Nepali daily published in Gangtok, said “I have been the victim of your democracy where I have been tortured, denied of my social, economic and political rights regarding which I have been writing you in several occasions.”

The letter pointed out: “Today when a bunch of economic offenders pointed out to us as foreigners and appealed to the Supreme Court of India to strike down all the provisions carved out for Sikkimese people in the Indian Constitution and your Supreme Court directed not to tender opposition against this left me with no option, but to ask you to relieve me from such humiliation of being true Sikkimese patriotic Indian.”

He added, “I would no longer like to live with the tag of foreigner in India. If government of India is also of the same opinion let me be relieved and given the opportunity to approach the third country.”

In another letter to Director, Vigilance Police Department, Government of Sikkim, Nepal has pointed out that it was “money laundering” in the State involving several businessmen in the State which was chiefly responsible for extension of Central Direct Tax Law in Sikkim.

“On 7th July 2013 we had lodged FIR against seven individuals trying to incite communal rift and divide in the peaceful State of Sikkim. Among the seven individuals, four of them have been found wanting and involved in the illegal business of money laundering, consequent to which attracted the concern of Government of India, ultimately leading to extention of Central Direct Tax Law in the State of Sikkim,” the letter said.

“Because of the illegal and anti national activities of money laundering by these fifty one individuals, Sikkim is about to loose its special privilege along with its peace and tranquility.  It is a well established fact that illegal money laundering activities was the root cause which has led to the present scenario,” the letter added.

Gangtok, July 26: Rebel ruling party legislator PS Golay has not only failed to lead his party, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), from the front he is also said to be ‘missing’ for a long time.

Though SKM’s Working President Bharati Sharma seems to be doing a good job the restlessness among the people for Golay’s inability to come out in the open is growing. If Golay fails to formally join the party this month as promised by Sharma earlier people’s disenchantment with the SKM leadership will keep on growing.

Worse still is the fact that many among Golay’s inner circle don’t want prominent individuals to join the SKM for fear of losing their party ticket for the next Assembly polls. However, one SKM insider said about 10-15 prominent ruling party people will join the SKM shortly.

Mahendra Lama gets Gorkha League support for Darjeeling LS seat

Statehood demand to be main poll issue

Darjeeling, July 26: Former Vice-Chancellor of Sikkim University Mahendra P Lama has decided to contest the Lok Sabha seat from Darjeeling.

He is being supported by the All India Gorkha League (AIGL), which has already begun campaigning for Lama’s candidature.

Lama (52), presently the Pro Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU),

recently announced his decision to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Darjeeling as an independent candidate.

 A native of Darjeeling, Lama has appealed to political parties to support his candidature.

 “In a Central Committee meeting in Darjeeling we decided that we would support Lama. AIGL has always invited intellectuals and people of good standing to take up the cause of Gorkhaland. Both the agitation of the 80s led by Subash Ghising and the present agitation led by Bimal Gurung betrayed the Hills and the aspirations of the people. We have great faith in Lama that his effort for the creation of a separate state will be sincere,” said Pratap Khati, general secretary, AIGL, The Hindustan Times reported.

The AIGL is also a member party of the Gorkhaland Task Force (GTF), which is a conglomeration of political outfits and apolitical organisations with the one-point agenda of a separate state of Gorkhaland.

Graft case against ex-Chief Secy revived

Gangtok, July 26:  Six months after his acquittal in a disproportionate assets case former Chief Secretary Sonam Wangdi is being dragged to the court once again.

Though the appeal period expired two months back, the High Court of Sikkim on Wednesday revived the graft case against the former chief secretary when the single bench of Chief Justice Pius C Kuriakose condoned the CBI’s delay in filing its appeal petition.

Wangdi was acquitted by the special CBI designated court at Namchi, South Sikkim, in December. The CBI now wants to appeal against Wangdi’s acquittal. The High Court has given three months’ time to the CBI to submit its papers in the case.

It may be mentioned that Wangdi has been writing a series of articles critical of the ruling elite. These articles have appeared in various local papers in the past so many months.

Breakaway Nepal Maoist calls for alliance with ex-king

Kathmandu, July 26: A call to political parties by a breakaway faction of Nepal's Maoist party to forge an alliance with deposed king Gyanendra Shah "to protect the country's nationality" has alarmed many in the Himalayan nation.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Mohan Baidhya, leader of the the CPN-Maoist, said his party would work will all nationalist forces, including Gyanendra, who carries "true feelings of nationalism".

To remove the centuries-old monarchy, the Maoists - including Baidhya - fought a 10-year civil war in Nepal that left over 13,000 dead. It resulted in Nepal becoming a democracy in 2008.

Baidhya's Maoist faction is also opposing the November polls, demanding the resignation of the Khil Raj Regmi-led government and urging an all-party round table conference.

However, though CPN-Maoist may not have much influence in the coming elections, it could disturb electoral equations, analysts say. Many hardcore Maoist cadres are associated with the party, which split from the mother UCPN (Maoist) a year ago.

"This is a ploy to derail the upcoming polls process," Tarai Madeshi Loktantrik Party leader Hyrdesh Tripathi told IANS.

He added that if the polls are not held, monarchists will gain. "No one can imagine what will happen if polls do not take place in November. We must avoid such kinds of political gaffes," he said.

After Baidhay called for an alliance with the deposed king, former prime minister and leader of the UCPN (Maoist) Baburam Bhattarai also held a press conference at his residence in Kathmandu on Tuesday and expressed concern, saying that such a move would put the nation in peril.

The people are also divided over monarchy, with many believing that the king himself was responsible for his ouster. Some feel monarchy was better than democracy.

Gyanendra is trying to regain power by visiting temples and reaching out to the public. He visited western Nepal and distributed relief items to flood victims on Tuesday.

Nepal's Election Commission on Wednesday said former king Gyanendra Shah and his family cannot distribute relief material to the victims of the recent floods in the western part of the country as it may influence voting in the November 19 general election.

SDF condemns ‘communal posters’

Gangtok, July 26: The ruling Sikkim Democratic Front said communal posters appearing various parts of the State are aimed at flaring up communal disharmony in the State.

The party spokesperson Bhim Dahal, while condemning the act, alleged that the opposition was trying to capitalize on the income tax issue by creating social disharmony in the State.

Echoing what Chief Minister Pawan Chamling said on the issue earlier, Dahal said the issue was now before the Supreme Court.

He said the issue was now “sub-judice” and was for the court to decide on the matter. The Chief Minister had earlier said the State Government would tackle the issue legally in the court.

Chinese Air Force holds night flying exercises in Tibet

“Border disputes were not created in one day, neither will they be resolved overnight”

Beijing, July 26: China's Air Force has conducted high-altitude night flying exercises at Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet region that borders India.

Photographs of helicopters participating in the exercises at Lhasa airport, located about 500 km from the Indian border, were issued on Wednesday by state-run Xinhua news agency.

The Chinese military regularly holds exercises for its troops in the Himalayan region to get them acclimatised to mountain warfare, PTI reported.

Last year, the People's Liberation Army held its "first ground to air military exercise" in the Tibetan plateau. The wargame involved scores of fighter jets, hundreds of battle tanks and a large number of ground troops.

Amid reports of frequent incursions by Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Chinese state media said it was "unwise" to let the "isolated incidents" to affect the "promising" China-India ties.

While the Chinese foreign and defence ministries were yet to respond to queries relating to the fresh reports of incursions in Ladakh sector, a commentary in the state-run Xinhua news agency accused the Indian media of putting out "sensational reports", "harming" the bilateral relations.

"The disputes, a historical hangover, were not created in one day, neither will they be resolved overnight. It is unwise to let isolated incidents along the border to negatively affect the promising China-India relationship," it said.

Observers say "isolated incidents" remark referring to the recurring incidents of incursions is the first comment from Beijing on the issue since the first intrusion reported on April 15 at the Daulat Beig Oldi (DBO) in Ladakh sector.

So far the Chinese foreign ministry's comments on the incident confined to assertions that the Chinese troops are patrolling their side of the border or played down the incidents saying that the over all situation at the border is peaceful and both the countries signed several agreements to maintain peace and trust building between the two militaries.

Indian media traditionally focused heavily on the border disputes between New Delhi and Beijing, are now asserting again that Chinese troops have crossed the "border" between the two countries, it said.

Editorial

MESSAGE FOR MR. GOLAY

Take Your Stand Now

It is right and proper that a man from Pawan Chamling’s camp come out in the open, tell the truth and lead a genuine revolt in the former kingdom of Sikkim. The Sikkimese people have been taken for a ride for far too long. Backed by New Delhi our politicians have continuously betrayed the people, divided them and paved the way for their destruction and eventual death. And yet there are those like Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) who refuses to toe the line and side with the enemies of the people. Golay may not be the ideal person to lead the movement for change in Sikkim; he  may also not have the much-needed vision for creation of the Naya Sikkim of our dream; but his act of defiance and readiness to come out in the open against those who have betrayed the people has been welcomed by the people. What is noteworthy is that many young people from all strata of society have come out openly in Golay’s support.

The next Assembly lections are not very far away and people have the right to know what Golay and his team have to offer. We have seen our past leaders; they make promises they are not able to keep. And yet they continue making tall promises knowing full well that people don’t believe and trust them. People have seen through the veil of deceit, falsehood and lies. There is the need for a fresh new order in Sikkim. If Golay is able to offer a new beginning he must come out now; if not he must allow someone else to show the way. The next elections are crucial for Sikkim. It will decide whether Sikkim lives on or dies in the hands of its treacherous leaders. We must note that there’s no win without a fight. Therefore, we must fight to win.

SC stays criminal proceedings in Gorkha leader Madan Tamang's murder case

New Delhi, July 26:  Supreme Court last Monday stayed trial court proceedings in Gorkha leader Madan Tamang murder case in West Bengal in the wake of allegation that CBI repeatedly failed to appear in court to oppose bail plea of the accused.

 “The proceedings before the trial court (Darjeeling) will be stayed,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and justices F M I Kalifulla and Vikramajit Sen said.

The bench also sought response of the Centre and West Bengal Government on a plea of Bharati Tamang, wife of slain leader Madan Tamang, seeking handing over of the probe from CBI to Special Investigating Team (SIT) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA), PTI reported.

It also sought response within three weeks from CBI on the allegation that due to non-appearance of the agency in the trial court, the accused were granted bail on different occasions.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Bharati, also sought shifting of the trial to a court in neighbouring Assam.  While seeking stay of the proceedings in the trial court, he said it was necessary as the case is in the stage of framing of charges.

“Trial court is in haste in framing the charges,” he submitted and claimed that due to non-appearance of the CBI, trial court in its order has been recording wrong information while granting bail to the accused who have allegedly misrepresented the facts.

Tamang, who was the President of All India Gorkha League, was killed on May 21, 2010 in Darjeeling allegedly by “a group of about four hundred supporters of Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) carrying deadly arms” when he was overseeing preparations for a public meeting.

Tamang’s wife had earlier also brought the issue of probe before the apex court which on December 3, 2012, had sought response from the Centre and West Bengal government.

She had alleged that investigation by state police and CBI was “tainted, biased and malafide”.

Bharati, in her plea, had also sought quashing of the charge sheets filed by the CID and the CBI on August 30, 2010 and August 20, 2011 respectively, saying “investigation has suppressed vital information and evidence whilst submitting both the charge sheet and the supplementary chargesheet in order to exclude the same from the materials to be used in prosecution of the co-conspirators.”

She had also sought a direction from the apex court to appoint “an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising of senior officers headed by a competent person or authority of impeccable credentials” to conduct a fresh probe into the conspiracy and murder of Tamang on May 21, 2010 at Darjeeling.

Bharati also said that “despite handing over of investigation to the CBI, the same yielded the arraignment of only one more accused whilst keeping quiet about the role of the main persons against whom allegations had been levelled and against whom substantial evidence is already forthcoming.”

She has accused the Centre and the State of trying to protect top leaders of GJMM whom she has arraigned as parties.

GJMM members, who have been made parties in the case, hold posts in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), a semi-autonomous administrative body for the Darjeeling hills in West Bengal, the petition said.

BGP Sikkim condemns posters inciting communal disharmony in Sikkim

Gangtok, July 26: Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) Sikkim on Wednesday condemned anti-Sikkimese elements in the State trying to disturb its communal harmony.

It said provocative posters in West Sikkim were aimed against the three ethnic communities of the State – Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepalese.

The party has urged the police to probe into the incident, a press release said.

Ban dance bars in govt guest houses: Upreti

Gangtok, July 26: Former minister KN Upreti has urged the authorities to immediately put an end to dance bars in government guest houses in the State.

He said such “illegal activities” has a bad influence among the people, particularly the youths.

Upreti has also urged the government to withdraw “all bar licenses issued in the villages,” stating that “such licenses should be confined within the town area only.”

 “Haphazard issue of bar licenses in village areas and even in some cases near schools and public places is causing threat to a peaceful atmosphere of the village,” Upreti said in a press release.

“I no longer like to live with the tag of foreigner in India”

In reaction to the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim (AOSS)’s allegation in its writ petition in the Supreme Court that ‘Sikkimese Nepalese’ are ‘foreigners’, writer, political activist and Convenor of Sikkim Liberation Party (SLP), Duknath Nepal, has written to the Union Home Ministry seeking its permission to seek asylum in a third country. “If Government of India is also of the same opinion let me be relieved and given the opportunity to approach the third country,” says the SLP leader in his letter.

Sikkim Observer makes public Nepal’s letter to the Union Home Minister:

To Honorable 

Home Minister of India

Government of India

New Delhi 

Regarding: Status of Sikkimese Nepalese Citizens 

Respected Sir, 

This is to inform you that a group of seven (7) individuals in the name and banner of ‘Old Settlers of Sikkim’ has filed a writ in the Honorable Supreme Court of India. The said writ is registered as 59 of 2012 (Civil). In the said petition the, petitioner has claimed that the four hundreds families including them are the true and real Indian and the rest of the eighty percent of Sikkimese citizens of Nepalese origin are of foreign origin. The concern and the gravity of matter is that the writ has already been accepted by the Honorable Supreme Court and ready for hearing. Consequent upon this, the Honorable Court has also advised the aggrieved parties not to oppose it publicly. (It may be noted that majority of those petitioners are directly or indirectly involved in criminal act of money laundering, and their names published in White Paper on Direct Tax Law by the Government of Sikkim).

Because of the cowardly act of these seven individuals, the ever peaceful State of Sikkim is in the verge of communal rift and tension. It has already reached the stage of volcanic proportion which can erupt anytime which can have wider and greater ramification in the strategic State of Sikkim. Therefore the following points need to be critically analyzed and reviewed.

1. This is simply not a law and order problem and problem of ethnicity. If the people who voted an Independent sovereign Kingdom of Sikkim were of foreign origin then the merger of Sikkim with India is illegal in itself. (Please note that among the fifteen signatories of the Tripartite Agreement of 8th May, 1973, eleven (11) of them belonged to the community whose nationality are being questioned).

2. Those individuals involved in small time business have not dared to act with such audacity and brazenness at their own, but we are of deep belief that there is some sinister force backing them.

3. It is necessary to mention here that when Sikkim was merged it was defined under article 371(F) of Indian Constitution. Under this provision all Indian of Sikkimese origin as defined were exempted from Direct Central Taxes.

4. These individuals who are claiming to be real and patriotic Indian were among the bunch who tried to loot India by exploiting this provision of Income Tax exemption meant for State of Sikkim through anti national activities of money laundering. 

5. Today they have been advised by the anti national people who unfortunately have been the elected representatives of Sikkim in connivance and tacit support of Government of India. These individuals are supported and advised by those leaders on power for whom nation is a market and the government is a medium to exploit it.

6. It is unfortunate from the part of India that it has always supported wrong people to reach in power. 

7. At present the people who are in power in Sikkim are simply bunch of crooks and stooges for whom the state is a business enterprise to loot and nation a big market. 

8. These people view China as big market than India who compelled the Indian Government to open strategic location of Nathula Valley for monetary gain only.

9. The same leadership had advised these individuals to approach Honorable Supreme Court of India to create a situation of hate and mistrust.

In view of the above development and the onslaught of such humiliation has left us in great dismay leaving us no further ground to tolerate such disgrace time and again. Though we are a forced Indian thrust upon, we and our fellow brethren tried to imbibe and adhere it to the best of our sincerity and earnest till date before being woken up by brazen and audacious attack on our bonafide by those involved in serious economic offences. 

Our forefather merged our mother country in India to be a part of greatest democracy of the world as is often claimed only to be tagged and termed foreigners times and again. In a span of nearly four decades of merger [annexation] of Sikkim, the respective government in the helm of power in this part of India has always tried to suppress the voice of concern under the boot. 

To further elucidate, I have been the victim of your democracy where I have been tortured, denied of my social, economic and political rights regarding which I have been writing you in several occasions. Today when a bunch of economic offenders pointed out to us as foreigners and appealed to the Supreme Court of India to strike down all the provisions carved out for Sikkimese people in the Indian Constitution and your Supreme Court directed not to tender opposition against this left me with no option, but to ask you to relieve me from such humiliation of being true Sikkimese patriotic Indian. I would no longer like to live with the tag of foreigner in India. If government of India is also of the same opinion let me be relieved and given the opportunity to approach the third country. Above all, if the definition of Indian patriotism is corruption, anti national activities, illegal money laundering, involvement in anti-national activity and to spit the venom against the people who voted their country to you and who send their sons and daughters in the border to fight for the Country. And if these criminals are true and patriotic Indians I simply do not want to live with them in the same society and country. So let me be given the permission to approach the third country for my honorable living. 

Thanking you 

Sincerely yours 

Duk N. Nepal

Convenor, Sikkim Liberation Party 

Sikkim

HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN     Wednesday July 16-23, 2013  

Abide by SC verdict on IT issue: Chamling

Gangtok, July 16: While stating that the State Government would abide by the Supreme Court’s decision on a petition filed by the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim (AOSS), Chief Minister Pawan Chamling said his government would, however, contest the issue legally.

This decision came during a meeting of the ruling party’s legislature party held here on Sunday. During the celebrations of Bhanu Jayanti on Saturday, Chamling said the matter regarding income tax exemption for old settlers of the State was in the apex court and would be “dealt legally” and “we should now abide by the court decision,” an IPR release said.

Chamling pointed out that he was in favour of IT exemption for old settlers. However, the Chief Minister’s failure to defend the Sikkimese Nepalese against the AOSS’s allegation in its writ petition that they were ‘foreigners’ has not gone down well with the people. In fact, Chamling said the Opposition had misguided the people on the issue.

Chamling’s remarks on Article 371F have also been sharply criticized by the Opposition. He is supposed to have said that it was up to the Centre if it wants to scrap Art. 371F from the Constitution. This article provides special status to Sikkim.

Opposition parties, including Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) and Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP), said Art 371F is based on assurances given to Sikkim during the merger in 1975. The SPCC said if the Chief Minister is not able to safeguard bonafide Sikkimese he should step down.

Nepal hurdle: delimitation of constituencies

Kathmandu, July 16: Nepal is facing a constitutional hurdle over delimitation of electoral constituencies as it prepares for November 19 constituent assembly (CA) elections.

According to political leaders, if the problem is not addressed immediately, it will affect the election plan. For delimitating the constituencies under the first-past-the-post election system, the government has formed a constituency delimitation commission (CDC) a month ago but it has not made any progress yet. In 2008 CA elections, there were 240 electoral constituencies but they need to be re-demarcated as per the 2011 national census.

On the one hand constitution calls for increasing the constituencies in line with the population increase, but on the other hand it prohibits increasing the constituencies beyond 240. The CDC held discussion with top leaders of four major parties yesterday for clearing the hurdle.

“The CDC representatives told us about the constitutional difficulties and we are working to remove it,” NC vice president Ram Chandra Poudel told reporters after the meeting.

Parties are also divided on the basis of constituency delimitation.

‘No political intention behind subsidy cut to Bhutan’

PM congratulates Bhutan PDP leaders

Bhutan’s Prime Minister-in-waiting Tshering Tobgay

New Delhi, July 16: India said Monday it looks forward to “intensive consultations” as soon as a new government is in place in Bhutan and denied there was any political or other intention in the subsidy cut of kerosene and cooking gas to the Himalayan nation.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said: “We expect intensive consultations as soon as a new government is in place in Bhutan.”

To a query on subsidy cut, he clarified that “the issue of subsidy relates to the delivery mechanisms of India’s development partnership with Bhutan, it has no political or other intentions,” IANS reported.

“We will certainly engage with Bhutan on this,” he said.

He also clarified that it was not “the intension of India to in any way adversely impact on the poor in Bhutan or on people in Bhutan in any manner”.

India “looks forward to engaging on this matter with Bhutan as soon as possible”, he said.

India had cut off the kerosene and cooking gas subsidy to Bhutan last month as the 10th Plan, under which India was providing such assistance, expired on June 30.

The spokesperson described the election process in Bhutan, in which the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) emerged victorious, as the “consolidation of democracy” in the Himalayan country.

The PDP won the elections, capturing 32 seats, while the incumbent Druk Phuensum Tshogpa of former Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley could manage just 15 seats in the 47-member National Assembly. The elections were Bhutan’s second parliamentary elections since the country became a democracy in 2008.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Sunday written to PDP leader Tshering Tobgay, congratulating him on his party’s victory and promised India’s “steadfast and unflinching support”.

He also assured that New Delhi will remain “sensitive to Bhutan and its interests” and said he has instructed his officials to “prepare for the discussions on our plan assistance to Bhutan”.

“I would like to avail of this opportunity to assure you of the steadfast and unflinching support of India and its citizens for the steady steps that Bhutan is taking to further strengthen democratic processes and institutions. India is a privileged partner of Bhutan and it’s people in their socio-economic progress and development,” Singh said in a statement.

Citizenship certificates issued to ‘foreigners’: Baidya

Baidya

Kathmandu, July 16: Despite haggling among political parties over the distribution of citizenship certificates, Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) gave out over 600,000 national IDs in one month.

With a view to ensuring participation of citizens in the Constituent Assembly elections scheduled for November 19, the government had launched two campaigns-one involving mobile teams and the integrated citizenship distribution campaign-across the country in the third week of April.

A Home Ministry source said 181,713 citizenship cards - 107,966 for women and 73,747 for men-were distributed at the local level under the mobile distribution campaign, The Kathmandu Post reported.

A citizenship certificate is mandatory for anyone to be listed in the new voter roll with photo and finger prints. According to Ministry officials, 421,381 citizenship cards-205,744 for females and 16,937 for males-were distributed under the integrated campaign. Records at the Ministry show that the number of certificates acquired by women in both the campaigns was higher than that acquired by men.

However, Madhes-based parties claim that their voters are still deprived of citizenship cards, while other parties like the Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist and Rastriya Janamorcha have been demanding formation of a high-level panel to look into the distribution campaigns. They claim that the ID cards were being distributed "haphazardly."

Baidya has been publicly saying that the campaigns were aimed at distributing citizenship certificates to "foreigners".

"In the name of Citizenship Ordinance, the government has misused the citizenship certificates by distributing them to foreigners. Our party has officially decided to launch a nationwide awareness campaign against the rampant misuse of the national IDs," CPN-Maoist spokesperson Pampha Bhusal said.

Many Madhes-based parties are saying that the special campaigns have failed to incorporate a significant portion of the population in the Tarai who are without the certificates.

Himalayan Guardian July 17-23, 2013

Editorial

RISKY VENTURE

Bhutan Polls: From 2 to 31

Despite its prompt denial India will find it very difficult to erase the widely-held notion that its last-minute withdrawal of subsidy on kerosene and cooking gas during the election process has not affected the poll results to Bhutan’s National Assembly. The very fact that the ruling Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (PDP) won only 14 of the 47 seats in the Assembly while its rival People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’s poll fortune rose to 31 from the previous 2 makes one doubt about the poll process, particularly when the outgoing Prime Minister Jigme Thinley was doing a good job.

An editorial in Kuensel, Bhutan's English-language daily - in which the government holds 51 per cent shares - wrote: "Many Bhutanese are hurt and angered by the timing (of the subsidy cuts), and feel it is a deliberate move to rock the elections."

New Delhi will have a lot of explaining to do in future and by – knowingly and unknowingly – influencing the outcome of the polls India will find itself in an uncomfortable position in the high Himalayas where China is increasingly becoming militarily and economically more aggressive.

Even powerful western countries are unable to ignore China these days and New Delhi’s discomfort on Thinley’s meeting with the former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of 

a multilateral meeting in Rio in 2012 was unnecessary. Indo-Bhutan’s relations are strong and cannot be easily disturbed. However, China’s dominance in the region cannot also be easily ignored. If Bhutanese leaders wish to learn how New Delhi plays its game in this strategic region they could learn a lot from the two former Himalayan kingdoms – Sikkim and Nepal.

Article 371F is based on 1973 Tripartite Agreement: Upreti

Gangtok, July 16: Former minister KN Upreti while criticizing Chief Minister Pawan Chamling’s remarks on Article 371F said this special provision in the Constitution is a product of India’s promises made during the merger as reflected in the historic Tripartite Agreement of May 8, 1973.

In a press statement, Upreti said it is “absolutely wrong” for the Chief Minister to say that “Article 371F stands at the pleasure or whim and wishes of the Central Government and so long as the Center desires and the Center may take away these privileges at any time if they desire.”

“Chamling should know that Article 371F is the product of pre-merger 8th May tri-partite agreement between the Chogyal, the Government of India and the political parties of Sikkim, which ensured full Constitutional safeguard to the three ethnic sections of the people of Sikkim namely – Sikkimese of Bhutia origins, Sikkimese of Lepcha origins and the Sikkimese of Nepali origins, who enjoyed full local protection right as Sikkim subjects during the pre-merger Chogyal’s Government,” Upreti said.

 “Taking advantage of such weak stand of our leaders and successive Governments a lot of encroachment and dilution has taken place from time to time. The Government with full majority of peoples’ representative in the house is fully responsible for taking strong stand on the matter and at no cost they should surrender or wholly be dependent on the court’s verdict,” Upreti added.

He went on to say, “High Courts or the Supreme Court are not the authority to make laws but their job is only to examine legally whether the laws made by the Parliament or the Assembly are right and is implemented properly.”

 “The Government instead of keeping mum and watching the situation should spell out their clear stand as to what steps they are going to take in the event of any aggression on encroachment on 371F of the Constitution,” the former minister said.

HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN     Wednesday July 16-23, 2013  

Abide by SC verdict on IT issue: Chamling

Gangtok, July 16: While stating that the State Government would abide by the Supreme Court’s decision on a petition filed by the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim (AOSS), Chief Minister Pawan Chamling said his government would, however, contest the issue legally.

This decision came during a meeting of the ruling party’s legislature party held here on Sunday. During the celebrations of Bhanu Jayanti on Saturday, Chamling said the matter regarding income tax exemption for old settlers of the State was in the apex court and would be “dealt legally” and “we should now abide by the court decision,” an IPR release said.

Chamling pointed out that he was in favour of IT exemption for old settlers. However, the Chief Minister’s failure to defend the Sikkimese Nepalese against the AOSS’s allegation in its writ petition that they were ‘foreigners’ has not gone down well with the people. In fact, Chamling said the Opposition had misguided the people on the issue.

Chamling’s remarks on Article 371F have also been sharply criticized by the Opposition. He is supposed to have said that it was up to the Centre if it wants to scrap Art. 371F from the Constitution. This article provides special status to Sikkim.

Opposition parties, including Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) and Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP), said Art 371F is based on assurances given to Sikkim during the merger in 1975. The SPCC said if the Chief Minister is not able to safeguard bonafide Sikkimese he should step down.

Nepal hurdle: delimitation of constituencies

Kathmandu, July 16: Nepal is facing a constitutional hurdle over delimitation of electoral constituencies as it prepares for November 19 constituent assembly (CA) elections.

According to political leaders, if the problem is not addressed immediately, it will affect the election plan. For delimitating the constituencies under the first-past-the-post election system, the government has formed a constituency delimitation commission (CDC) a month ago but it has not made any progress yet. In 2008 CA elections, there were 240 electoral constituencies but they need to be re-demarcated as per the 2011 national census.

On the one hand constitution calls for increasing the constituencies in line with the population increase, but on the other hand it prohibits increasing the constituencies beyond 240. The CDC held discussion with top leaders of four major parties yesterday for clearing the hurdle.

“The CDC representatives told us about the constitutional difficulties and we are working to remove it,” NC vice president Ram Chandra Poudel told reporters after the meeting.

Parties are also divided on the basis of constituency delimitation.

‘No political intention behind subsidy cut to Bhutan’

PM congratulates Bhutan PDP leaders

Bhutan’s Prime Minister-in-waiting Tshering Tobgay

New Delhi, July 16: India said Monday it looks forward to “intensive consultations” as soon as a new government is in place in Bhutan and denied there was any political or other intention in the subsidy cut of kerosene and cooking gas to the Himalayan nation.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said: “We expect intensive consultations as soon as a new government is in place in Bhutan.”

To a query on subsidy cut, he clarified that “the issue of subsidy relates to the delivery mechanisms of India’s development partnership with Bhutan, it has no political or other intentions,” IANS reported.

“We will certainly engage with Bhutan on this,” he said.

He also clarified that it was not “the intension of India to in any way adversely impact on the poor in Bhutan or on people in Bhutan in any manner”.

India “looks forward to engaging on this matter with Bhutan as soon as possible”, he said.

India had cut off the kerosene and cooking gas subsidy to Bhutan last month as the 10th Plan, under which India was providing such assistance, expired on June 30.

The spokesperson described the election process in Bhutan, in which the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) emerged victorious, as the “consolidation of democracy” in the Himalayan country.

The PDP won the elections, capturing 32 seats, while the incumbent Druk Phuensum Tshogpa of former Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley could manage just 15 seats in the 47-member National Assembly. The elections were Bhutan’s second parliamentary elections since the country became a democracy in 2008.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Sunday written to PDP leader Tshering Tobgay, congratulating him on his party’s victory and promised India’s “steadfast and unflinching support”.

He also assured that New Delhi will remain “sensitive to Bhutan and its interests” and said he has instructed his officials to “prepare for the discussions on our plan assistance to Bhutan”.

“I would like to avail of this opportunity to assure you of the steadfast and unflinching support of India and its citizens for the steady steps that Bhutan is taking to further strengthen democratic processes and institutions. India is a privileged partner of Bhutan and it’s people in their socio-economic progress and development,” Singh said in a statement.

Citizenship certificates issued to ‘foreigners’: Baidya

Baidya

Kathmandu, July 16: Despite haggling among political parties over the distribution of citizenship certificates, Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) gave out over 600,000 national IDs in one month.

With a view to ensuring participation of citizens in the Constituent Assembly elections scheduled for November 19, the government had launched two campaigns-one involving mobile teams and the integrated citizenship distribution campaign-across the country in the third week of April.

A Home Ministry source said 181,713 citizenship cards - 107,966 for women and 73,747 for men-were distributed at the local level under the mobile distribution campaign, The Kathmandu Post reported.

A citizenship certificate is mandatory for anyone to be listed in the new voter roll with photo and finger prints. According to Ministry officials, 421,381 citizenship cards-205,744 for females and 16,937 for males-were distributed under the integrated campaign. Records at the Ministry show that the number of certificates acquired by women in both the campaigns was higher than that acquired by men.

However, Madhes-based parties claim that their voters are still deprived of citizenship cards, while other parties like the Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist and Rastriya Janamorcha have been demanding formation of a high-level panel to look into the distribution campaigns. They claim that the ID cards were being distributed "haphazardly."

Baidya has been publicly saying that the campaigns were aimed at distributing citizenship certificates to "foreigners".

"In the name of Citizenship Ordinance, the government has misused the citizenship certificates by distributing them to foreigners. Our party has officially decided to launch a nationwide awareness campaign against the rampant misuse of the national IDs," CPN-Maoist spokesperson Pampha Bhusal said.

Many Madhes-based parties are saying that the special campaigns have failed to incorporate a significant portion of the population in the Tarai who are without the certificates.

Himalayan Guardian July 17-23, 2013

Editorial

RISKY VENTURE

Bhutan Polls: From 2 to 31

Despite its prompt denial India will find it very difficult to erase the widely-held notion that its last-minute withdrawal of subsidy on kerosene and cooking gas during the election process has not affected the poll results to Bhutan’s National Assembly. The very fact that the ruling Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (PDP) won only 14 of the 47 seats in the Assembly while its rival People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’s poll fortune rose to 31 from the previous 2 makes one doubt about the poll process, particularly when the outgoing Prime Minister Jigme Thinley was doing a good job.

An editorial in Kuensel, Bhutan's English-language daily - in which the government holds 51 per cent shares - wrote: "Many Bhutanese are hurt and angered by the timing (of the subsidy cuts), and feel it is a deliberate move to rock the elections."

New Delhi will have a lot of explaining to do in future and by – knowingly and unknowingly – influencing the outcome of the polls India will find itself in an uncomfortable position in the high Himalayas where China is increasingly becoming militarily and economically more aggressive.

Even powerful western countries are unable to ignore China these days and New Delhi’s discomfort on Thinley’s meeting with the former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of 

a multilateral meeting in Rio in 2012 was unnecessary. Indo-Bhutan’s relations are strong and cannot be easily disturbed. However, China’s dominance in the region cannot also be easily ignored. If Bhutanese leaders wish to learn how New Delhi plays its game in this strategic region they could learn a lot from the two former Himalayan kingdoms – Sikkim and Nepal.

Article 371F is based on 1973 Tripartite Agreement: Upreti

Gangtok, July 16: Former minister KN Upreti while criticizing Chief Minister Pawan Chamling’s remarks on Article 371F said this special provision in the Constitution is a product of India’s promises made during the merger as reflected in the historic Tripartite Agreement of May 8, 1973.

In a press statement, Upreti said it is “absolutely wrong” for the Chief Minister to say that “Article 371F stands at the pleasure or whim and wishes of the Central Government and so long as the Center desires and the Center may take away these privileges at any time if they desire.”

“Chamling should know that Article 371F is the product of pre-merger 8th May tri-partite agreement between the Chogyal, the Government of India and the political parties of Sikkim, which ensured full Constitutional safeguard to the three ethnic sections of the people of Sikkim namely – Sikkimese of Bhutia origins, Sikkimese of Lepcha origins and the Sikkimese of Nepali origins, who enjoyed full local protection right as Sikkim subjects during the pre-merger Chogyal’s Government,” Upreti said.

 “Taking advantage of such weak stand of our leaders and successive Governments a lot of encroachment and dilution has taken place from time to time. The Government with full majority of peoples’ representative in the house is fully responsible for taking strong stand on the matter and at no cost they should surrender or wholly be dependent on the court’s verdict,” Upreti added.

He went on to say, “High Courts or the Supreme Court are not the authority to make laws but their job is only to examine legally whether the laws made by the Parliament or the Assembly are right and is implemented properly.”

 “The Government instead of keeping mum and watching the situation should spell out their clear stand as to what steps they are going to take in the event of any aggression on encroachment on 371F of the Constitution,” the former minister said.

HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN     Wednesday July 16-23, 2013  

Abide by SC verdict on IT issue: Chamling

Gangtok, July 16: While stating that the State Government would abide by the Supreme Court’s decision on a petition filed by the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim (AOSS), Chief Minister Pawan Chamling said his government would, however, contest the issue legally.

This decision came during a meeting of the ruling party’s legislature party held here on Sunday. During the celebrations of Bhanu Jayanti on Saturday, Chamling said the matter regarding income tax exemption for old settlers of the State was in the apex court and would be “dealt legally” and “we should now abide by the court decision,” an IPR release said.

Chamling pointed out that he was in favour of IT exemption for old settlers. However, the Chief Minister’s failure to defend the Sikkimese Nepalese against the AOSS’s allegation in its writ petition that they were ‘foreigners’ has not gone down well with the people. In fact, Chamling said the Opposition had misguided the people on the issue.

Chamling’s remarks on Article 371F have also been sharply criticized by the Opposition. He is supposed to have said that it was up to the Centre if it wants to scrap Art. 371F from the Constitution. This article provides special status to Sikkim.

Opposition parties, including Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) and Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP), said Art 371F is based on assurances given to Sikkim during the merger in 1975. The SPCC said if the Chief Minister is not able to safeguard bonafide Sikkimese he should step down.

Nepal hurdle: delimitation of constituencies

Kathmandu, July 16: Nepal is facing a constitutional hurdle over delimitation of electoral constituencies as it prepares for November 19 constituent assembly (CA) elections.

According to political leaders, if the problem is not addressed immediately, it will affect the election plan. For delimitating the constituencies under the first-past-the-post election system, the government has formed a constituency delimitation commission (CDC) a month ago but it has not made any progress yet. In 2008 CA elections, there were 240 electoral constituencies but they need to be re-demarcated as per the 2011 national census.

On the one hand constitution calls for increasing the constituencies in line with the population increase, but on the other hand it prohibits increasing the constituencies beyond 240. The CDC held discussion with top leaders of four major parties yesterday for clearing the hurdle.

“The CDC representatives told us about the constitutional difficulties and we are working to remove it,” NC vice president Ram Chandra Poudel told reporters after the meeting.

Parties are also divided on the basis of constituency delimitation.

‘No political intention behind subsidy cut to Bhutan’

PM congratulates Bhutan PDP leaders

Bhutan’s Prime Minister-in-waiting Tshering Tobgay

New Delhi, July 16: India said Monday it looks forward to “intensive consultations” as soon as a new government is in place in Bhutan and denied there was any political or other intention in the subsidy cut of kerosene and cooking gas to the Himalayan nation.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said: “We expect intensive consultations as soon as a new government is in place in Bhutan.”

To a query on subsidy cut, he clarified that “the issue of subsidy relates to the delivery mechanisms of India’s development partnership with Bhutan, it has no political or other intentions,” IANS reported.

“We will certainly engage with Bhutan on this,” he said.

He also clarified that it was not “the intension of India to in any way adversely impact on the poor in Bhutan or on people in Bhutan in any manner”.

India “looks forward to engaging on this matter with Bhutan as soon as possible”, he said.

India had cut off the kerosene and cooking gas subsidy to Bhutan last month as the 10th Plan, under which India was providing such assistance, expired on June 30.

The spokesperson described the election process in Bhutan, in which the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) emerged victorious, as the “consolidation of democracy” in the Himalayan country.

The PDP won the elections, capturing 32 seats, while the incumbent Druk Phuensum Tshogpa of former Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley could manage just 15 seats in the 47-member National Assembly. The elections were Bhutan’s second parliamentary elections since the country became a democracy in 2008.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Sunday written to PDP leader Tshering Tobgay, congratulating him on his party’s victory and promised India’s “steadfast and unflinching support”.

He also assured that New Delhi will remain “sensitive to Bhutan and its interests” and said he has instructed his officials to “prepare for the discussions on our plan assistance to Bhutan”.

“I would like to avail of this opportunity to assure you of the steadfast and unflinching support of India and its citizens for the steady steps that Bhutan is taking to further strengthen democratic processes and institutions. India is a privileged partner of Bhutan and it’s people in their socio-economic progress and development,” Singh said in a statement.

Citizenship certificates issued to ‘foreigners’: Baidya

Baidya

Kathmandu, July 16: Despite haggling among political parties over the distribution of citizenship certificates, Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) gave out over 600,000 national IDs in one month.

With a view to ensuring participation of citizens in the Constituent Assembly elections scheduled for November 19, the government had launched two campaigns-one involving mobile teams and the integrated citizenship distribution campaign-across the country in the third week of April.

A Home Ministry source said 181,713 citizenship cards - 107,966 for women and 73,747 for men-were distributed at the local level under the mobile distribution campaign, The Kathmandu Post reported.

A citizenship certificate is mandatory for anyone to be listed in the new voter roll with photo and finger prints. According to Ministry officials, 421,381 citizenship cards-205,744 for females and 16,937 for males-were distributed under the integrated campaign. Records at the Ministry show that the number of certificates acquired by women in both the campaigns was higher than that acquired by men.

However, Madhes-based parties claim that their voters are still deprived of citizenship cards, while other parties like the Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist and Rastriya Janamorcha have been demanding formation of a high-level panel to look into the distribution campaigns. They claim that the ID cards were being distributed "haphazardly."

Baidya has been publicly saying that the campaigns were aimed at distributing citizenship certificates to "foreigners".

"In the name of Citizenship Ordinance, the government has misused the citizenship certificates by distributing them to foreigners. Our party has officially decided to launch a nationwide awareness campaign against the rampant misuse of the national IDs," CPN-Maoist spokesperson Pampha Bhusal said.

Many Madhes-based parties are saying that the special campaigns have failed to incorporate a significant portion of the population in the Tarai who are without the certificates.

Himalayan Guardian July 17-23, 2013

Editorial

RISKY VENTURE

Bhutan Polls: From 2 to 31

Despite its prompt denial India will find it very difficult to erase the widely-held notion that its last-minute withdrawal of subsidy on kerosene and cooking gas during the election process has not affected the poll results to Bhutan’s National Assembly. The very fact that the ruling Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (PDP) won only 14 of the 47 seats in the Assembly while its rival People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’s poll fortune rose to 31 from the previous 2 makes one doubt about the poll process, particularly when the outgoing Prime Minister Jigme Thinley was doing a good job.

An editorial in Kuensel, Bhutan's English-language daily - in which the government holds 51 per cent shares - wrote: "Many Bhutanese are hurt and angered by the timing (of the subsidy cuts), and feel it is a deliberate move to rock the elections."

New Delhi will have a lot of explaining to do in future and by – knowingly and unknowingly – influencing the outcome of the polls India will find itself in an uncomfortable position in the high Himalayas where China is increasingly becoming militarily and economically more aggressive.

Even powerful western countries are unable to ignore China these days and New Delhi’s discomfort on Thinley’s meeting with the former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of 

a multilateral meeting in Rio in 2012 was unnecessary. Indo-Bhutan’s relations are strong and cannot be easily disturbed. However, China’s dominance in the region cannot also be easily ignored. If Bhutanese leaders wish to learn how New Delhi plays its game in this strategic region they could learn a lot from the two former Himalayan kingdoms – Sikkim and Nepal.

Article 371F is based on 1973 Tripartite Agreement: Upreti

Gangtok, July 16: Former minister KN Upreti while criticizing Chief Minister Pawan Chamling’s remarks on Article 371F said this special provision in the Constitution is a product of India’s promises made during the merger as reflected in the historic Tripartite Agreement of May 8, 1973.

In a press statement, Upreti said it is “absolutely wrong” for the Chief Minister to say that “Article 371F stands at the pleasure or whim and wishes of the Central Government and so long as the Center desires and the Center may take away these privileges at any time if they desire.”

“Chamling should know that Article 371F is the product of pre-merger 8th May tri-partite agreement between the Chogyal, the Government of India and the political parties of Sikkim, which ensured full Constitutional safeguard to the three ethnic sections of the people of Sikkim namely – Sikkimese of Bhutia origins, Sikkimese of Lepcha origins and the Sikkimese of Nepali origins, who enjoyed full local protection right as Sikkim subjects during the pre-merger Chogyal’s Government,” Upreti said.

 “Taking advantage of such weak stand of our leaders and successive Governments a lot of encroachment and dilution has taken place from time to time. The Government with full majority of peoples’ representative in the house is fully responsible for taking strong stand on the matter and at no cost they should surrender or wholly be dependent on the court’s verdict,” Upreti added.

He went on to say, “High Courts or the Supreme Court are not the authority to make laws but their job is only to examine legally whether the laws made by the Parliament or the Assembly are right and is implemented properly.”

 “The Government instead of keeping mum and watching the situation should spell out their clear stand as to what steps they are going to take in the event of any aggression on encroachment on 371F of the Constitution,” the former minister said.

SIKKIM OBSERVER Saturday   July 13-19,  2013    

Gangtok rally against ‘foreigner’ tag

“We are Sikkimese, not Foreigners”

Gangtok, July 12: In a bid to put more pressure on old settlers to erase the ‘foreigner’ tag on Sikkimese Nepalese in their petition in the Supreme Court a large section of the people in the State, particularly Nepalese, held a rally here yesterday.

Held under the aegis of Denzong Welfare Association (DWA), the rally started at 5^th Mile in Tadong and ended at the Paljor Stadium. Supported by several social organizations and political parties the rally was organized to ensure that the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim (AOSS) either withdraw or amend its application in the apex court that reportedly stated that Sikkimese Nepalese in the State are ‘foreigners’. This has greatly hurt the sentiments of the people, particularly the Sikkimese Nepalese who are one of the three ethnic communities of the former kingdom and possess genuine Sikkim Subject Certificate.

One of the placards in the rally said, “We are Sikkkimese Not Foreigners.” The Sikkim People”s Forum headed by former chief secretary PK Pradhan, which is likely to play a major role on the issue, will meet Chief Minister Pawan Chamling on the issue. It has called everyone to respond to the need of the hour in a peaceful manner.

Incidentally, the matter is being heard in the Supreme Court today and AOSS has already assured that it would amend its petition to placate the Sikkimese Nepalese.

SDF govt ‘dictatorial’, democracy suppressed: SNPP

 Demands Subba & Co’s release

    SHRP supporters on protest-mode on ‘foreigner’ tag

Gangtok, July 12: The Sikkim National People’s Party (SNPP) has strongly condemned the arrest of A.D. Subba, President of the Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad (SHRP), and other members of the party for protesting against Sikkimese Nepalese being labeled as ‘foreigners’ by members of the old settlers in the State.

SNPP President Biraj Adhikari said his party “strongly protests the attempt to deny any form of democratic protests by the dictatorial Government of the Sikkim Democratic Front.”

Adhikari in a press statement said the attack “is another example of the high handedness of the State government after the barbaric police attacks on the office of another opposition party in the state.”

The SNPP also expressed its surprise “at the utter lack of sensitivity of the administration to the heightened sense of anger of the majority community in Sikkim due to the petition” of the old settlers filed before the Supreme Court.

“The party demands that all detainees be released without condition immediately and suggests that the administration be more vigilant when tackling democratic forms of protest in the future,” the release added.

Subba, who was undergoing medical treatment at the STNM hospital here on Wednesday, has alleged that  some of his party members who were arrested were beaten up in police custody. This allegation has been denied by Police authorities.

DIG (Range) Sikkim Police, MS Tuli said SHRP took out the procession without permission and have been booked under sections 188, 353, 283m 436 and 34 IPC.

Stop Teesta projects: West Bengal

Kolkata, July 12: West Bengal wants the Centre to stop all future hydel projects on the Teesta river, the State's Irrigation Minister Rajib Bandopadhyay says.

Bandopadhyay told bdnews24.com that he has taken up the issue with chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who has agreed to move Delhi on the issue.

The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation ( NHPC) has already set up three hydel projects on the Teesta in East Sikkim and at Kalijhora and Ranvi on the Bengal-Sikkim border.

"They (NHPC) have plans for ten more such projects to generate power from the Teesta. But this cannot be allowed," Bandopadhyay said.

The Minister said that while these projects may be run of the river types and would not involve much reservoir storage, sudden release of water from the upstream during the monsoon could lead to an Uttarakhand type disaster from areas alongside the Teesta downstream.

"It could wipe out huge populations in West Bengal and perhaps further down in Bangladesh if there's such surge in water volume due to abrupt release," Bandopadhyay said, citing experts in his department.

The town of Jalpaiguri suffered heavily during 1968 in such an event when the Teesta swelled up suddenly due to heavy rush of water from upstream.

The NHPC, he said, have finalised these projects including the ten latest ones without consulting West Bengal, which was clearly unacceptable.

China defends latest Ladakh incursion, says PLA troops were patrolling its side of LAC

Beijing, July 12: Virtually defending the latest incursion by the PLA in the Chumar sector in Ladakh, China on Wednesday said its troops were patrolling on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and asserted that "status quo" should not be changed pending a final settlement.

"I have seen the relevant reports but I am not aware of the specific situation", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing when asked about the incident that took place ahead of Defence Minister AK Antony's visit to Beijing last week, PTI reported.

"Chinese Defence forces have been patrolling along the Chinese side of the LAC of the China-India border", she said. "The general situation in the border areas is stable. We have the consensus that pending the final settlement of the boundary question no one of us (none from India or China) should change the status quo along the LAC", she said, indirectly asserting that neither side should resort to any infrastructure development.

Aerial view of five tents erected by intruding Chinese troops inside Indian territory in Daulat Beg Oldi sector of Ladakh

"China would like to make joint efforts with the Indian side to safeguard peace and tranquillity of the border areas", Hua said. The incident took place on June 17 when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops intruded into the Chumar sector in Ladakh and smashed some bunkers besides cutting wires of cameras installed at the Indian border post.

While the Army headquarters is tight-lipped about the incident, the broken camera equipment was returned to an Indian Army patrol at a flag meeting on July 3 in Chusul area following furious negotiations between the two sides, DNA reported.

Chumar, a remote village on Ladakh-Himachal Pradesh border, is being claimed by China as its own territory

China, India pledge on border

More talks for troops in Sikkim, Ladakh and Arunachal

New Delhi, July 12: India and China on Saturday pledged to strengthen the existing agreements on maintaining peace and tranquility along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC). The two sides also agreed on a slew of confidence-building measures, including increased military-to-military contact and frequent border meetings between commanders.

“Peace and tranquility on the border was an important guarantor for the growth and development of bilateral cooperation, trust and understanding between the two militaries,” said a joint statement released after Defence Minister AK Antony met his Chinese counterpart General Chang Wanquan at Beijing, The Tribune reported.

The two Asian giants agreed to quickly conclude negotiations on the proposed Border Defence Cooperation Agreement. The two ministers announced greater interaction between their defence forces. This is major change as India had suspended all military relations with China after the latter refused visa to its General and chief of the northern command in 2009.

Antony and his counterpart reviewed the working of various agreements and protocols to maintain calm at the border. A standoff in Ladakh had escalated tension between the two sides in April this year.

The joint statement listed new proposals to ramp up military ties. Senior military commanders from service headquarters, command/military region and field formations will go on exchange visits on a regular basis. Troops stationed on the border will engage in talks more often. The border personnel meetings will now take place with greater frequency and at more locations.    

   Currently, such meetings take place twice in a year at each of the three designated spots - Chusul in Ladakh, Nathula in Sikkim and Bumla in Arunachal Pradesh. The two navies will increase ship visits, consider conducting joint maritime search and rescue exercises and cooperate in counter-piracy operations. Similarly, the air forces will expand their functional exchanges. Military training institutions will also strengthen their exchanges at the faculty and student levels.

General Chang Wanquan has accepted Antony’s invitation to visit India. Antony’s visit to China was the first by an Indian Defence Minister since 2006.

Editorial

SUPREME COURT VERDICT

Cleaning Up The System

The Supreme Court’s latest bid to clean up the political system in the country should be welcomed. Those, including politicians and political parties, opposing it giving some lame excuses should be ignored. The Supreme Court has said parliamentarians and lawmakers convicted of a crime will be immediately disqualified. The court struck down as ultra vires, or invalid, a provision of the Representation of the People Act, which protects legislators and gives them three months to file an appeal. The SC decision will not apply to lawmakers who have been convicted and have filed their appeals in the higher courts before the pronouncement of this verdict. The court order also says a convicted lawmaker cannot contest elections again or cast his/her vote from jail.This ruling could lead to several lawmakers in Parliament and state assemblies losing their seats. According to findings by the Association for Democratic Reforms, an NGO, 1,460 sitting MPs and MLAs face criminal charges in various cases.

Under Sec 8(3) of the RPA, a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from contesting elections. Further, he or she cannot contest for six years even after acquittal. However, sub-section 8(4) says a lawmaker, if convicted, cannot be disqualified if he or she files an appeal in a higher court within three months. The court’s decision should come as welcome news for the election commission, which has been pushing for this amendment in the law for a while now. Political parties have opposed such a step by reasoning that it would lead to people levying false charges against politicians to prevent them from contesting.

Sikkim district on priority list for health care

Gangtok, July 12: One of the districts in the State has been identified as one of the 184 high priority districts (HPD) in the country which will receive funds from the Centre for health care facilities.

The high priority dictricts (HPDs) were decided based on their poor indicators. Relative ranking of districts has been done within a state (based on composite index) and bottom 25 per cent of the districts have been selected as high focus districts for that state, senior health officials said, PTI reported.

These 184 HPDs include 17 districts from Madhya Pradesh, 19 from Uttar Pradesh, 10 from Rajasthan and Bihar, 9 from Maharashtra, 8 from Gujarat, Karnataka, 6 from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, 5 from Haryana, Manipur, Chattisgarh, Punjab and West Bengal, 4 from Meghalaya and Mizoram, Nagaland and Himachal Pradesh, 3 from Kerala and Uttarakhand and one Pondicherry, Sikkim and Tripura.

Sikkim women rescued from Goa prostitution den

Panaji, July 12: Eighteen women, most of them from northeastern states and Nepal, were rescued after a raid on a Goa night club which doubled up as a prostitution den, police said on Monday.

Two people, including a pimp and the night club's owner Ronnie Chakravarthy, were arrested after the Saturday raid in Calangute, said police inspector Nilesh Rane.

"The victims are mainly from Manipur, Sikkim and Nepal. There was a Goan girl too. They had been hired as waitresses and dancers, but in fact they were used for prostitution," Rane said.

Calangute, located 20 km from Panaji, is one of the most popular beach villages in Goa and known for its night life.

20 weavers undergo handloom training in East Sikkim

Gangtok, July 12: A 60-day Integrated Handloom Development Scheme (IHDS) training on handloom weaving for 20 weavers of Rongney, East Sikkim sponsored by Office of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Government of India, Ministry of Textiles and organized by Sikkim Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd., , Gangtok was concluded on Saturday.

The programme was attended by the Panchayats of 30 – Rongey – Tathangchen G.P.U. Indra Maya Pradhan, Vice-President, Rinzing Dorjee Bhutia, Panchayat Secretary, Munna Chettri, Member, Shanti Gurung, Member and officer of D.H.H. Chozang Tshering Lepcha, Deputy Director (Training), and Jigme Pintso Bhutia, Assistant Director (IHDS).

Jigme Pintso Bhutia, Assistant Director (IHDS), informed the weavers on information relating to handloom sector development i.e. health & life insurance, weavers credit card, yarn pass book, subsidy on yarn, mill gate price etc. in the State.

The Panchayats were very thankful to the department for organizing such training in their area. Looms, accessories and raw materials were also distributed to weavers through the Panchayats for initiating the launch of their first products. Certificates were also awarded to the trainees.