Friday, July 5, 2013

HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN Wednesday July 3-9, 2013 ‘SIKKIMESE NEPALESE’ UP IN ARMS AGAINST ‘FOREIGNER’ TAG Biraj Bhandari Duknath Gangtok, July 2: Their reserved seats in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly were illegally and arbitrarily abolished in 1979. This was followed by division of their community with the introduction of OBCs in the former kingdom. Thereafter came another blow: part of OBCs were declared STs in 2003. And now they have been labeled as “foreigners” in a writ petition in the Supreme Court. The Sikkimese Nepalese leadership in the State has threatened to stage a statewide agitation if the old settlers failed to withdraw their allegation against them in the Supreme Court. The threat worked; the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim (AOSS) has assured it would delete its “unintentional mistakes” in its writ petition filed before the Supreme Court on the income tax issue. Reacting to the allegation, former Chief Minister and Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) chief Nar Bahadur Bhandari said the Association’s submissions were “false” and added that Sikkimese Nepalese were ‘subjects’ of the Chogyal like the Bhutias and Lepchas as they possessed Sikkim Subject Certificates and are, therefore, entitled for IT exemption. The Sikkim Liberation Party President Duknath Nepal in a press statement said his party workers have been instructed “to be prepared of any kind of circumstances” in opposing those who have labeled them as foreigners. “This is not the first time that Sikkimese have been under attack and their rights being impinged upon. From the very first day of being the part of India, there has been grand design against the interest of Sikkimese people,” Nepal said in the statement. He has pointed out that the Constitution has recognized “only three ethnic communities as the bonafide of Sikkim, and they are Bhutia, Lepcha and Nepali” and not those who represent the business community in the State. The Sikkim National People’s Party (SNPP) feels betrayed by old settlers of the State for describing Sikkimese Nepalese as “foreigners” in their writ petition in the Supreme Court. “The SNPP strongly condemns the choice of words used in the petition to describe the Sikkimese of Nepali origin as foreigners, which shows an absolute lack of sensitivity on the part of the petitioners regarding the sentiment and pride of the majority community who, incidentally, have been supporting the petitioners in their efforts to exempt themselves from paying Income Tax from the beginning,” SNPP President Biraj Adhikari said in a Press statement. “The party feels this is a betrayal of the trust which has existed for so long and is of the opinion that just a simple apology to the Nepali community will not suffice, and the petitioners will have to make visible efforts in order bring back the trust as it was,” Adhikari said. Adhikari said, “till the seat reservation (in the Assembly) is restored, the Sikkimese of Nepali origin will not get their due even after having papers like the Sikkim Subject Certificate, and will be subject to these demeaning accusations in the future also.” While condemning the allegation, the Sikkimey Nepali Jaatiya Sangharsha Samiti has threatened to stage a state-wide non-cooperation movement if members of the old settlers in the State fail to apologize and rectify the mistake in the writ petition. The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) President KN Sharma said the “so-called older settlers” of the former kingdom refused to accept Sikkim subject status when it was given to all residents of Sikkim under certain criteria in 1961. They should now not label “native Sikkimese Nepalese as foreigner,” the release said. “The IT exemption by Government is constitutionally guaranteed to the native Sikkimese under the preview of the provisions granted under article 371F which excludes these so-called old settlers,” Sharma said. China lifts 17-year ban on Dalai Lama photos at Tibet monastery: Rights group Beijing, July 2: Chinese officials have lifted a ban on Tibetan monks displaying photographs of the Dalai Lama at a prominent monastery, a rights group said on Thursday, an unexpected policy shift which could ease tensions in the restive region. The decision concerning the Gaden monastery in the Tibetan capital Lhasa - one of the most historically important religious establishments in Tibet - reversed a ban introduced in 1996, the Britain-based Free Tibet group told Reuters, citing sources with direct knowledge of the situation. It was made as similar changes are being considered in other Tibetan regions of China, and may signal authorities are contemplating looser religious restrictions and a policy change over Tibet, three months after President Xi Jinping took office. Chinese officials in western Qinghai province are also considering lifting a ban on Tibetans displaying pictures of the exiled spiritual leader, according to the International Campaign for Tibet, a US-based advocacy group. It said there were also draft proposals in the region to end the practice of forcing Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama, and to decrease the police presence at monasteries. Officials in Lhasa and Qinghai could not immediately be reached for comment. Such measures appear calculated to reduce tensions between the Tibetans and the government after a series of Tibetan self-immolation protests against Chinese rule. Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, who fled China in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, a violent separatist. The Dalai Lama, who is based in India, says he is merely seeking greater autonomy for his Himalayan homeland. Since 2009, at least 120 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China in protest against Beijing's policies in Tibet and nearby regions with large Tibetan populations. Most were calling for the return of the Dalai Lama. "Tibetans' reverence for and loyalty to the Dalai Lama has almost no equal among the world's communities and if this policy is extended beyond this individual monastery as other reports suggest, it will be very significant for the Tibetan people," Free Tibet spokesman Alistair Currie said. The new policy at the Gaden monastery and the discussions in Qinghai come after a scholar from the Central Party School published an essay questioning China's policy on Tibet. So far, President Xi has said very little publicly about Tibet. His late father, Xi Zhongxun, a liberal-minded former vice premier, was close to the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan leader once gave the elder Xi an expensive watch in the 1950s, a gift the senior party official still wore decades later. "There's increasingly a view that due to the critical nature of the situation of Tibet, a discussion of a change in some hardline policies is merited and there's a need for the Dalai Lama to be involved in some way," Kate Saunders, spokeswoman for the International Campaign for Tibet, Reuters reported. Saunders said the draft proposals in Qinghai were likely to be implemented either in August or September. Advani slams Omar, says BJP always opposed special status to J&K New Delhi, July 2: Against the backdrop of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah slamming him on the issue of revocation of special status to the state, senior BJP leader LK Advani on Friday advised him not to use words like cheating and deceiving and clarified that his party has always been opposed to Article 370. In his latest blog posting, Advani said even the Congress party- other than Jawaharlal Nehru and a few other leaders- were strongly opposed to giving a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, PTI reported. Advani quotes from a biography of Sardar Patel to argue that even he was against Article 370 but kept his views in the background out of his regard for Nehru. "Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir state, has every right to disagree with the BJP on matters relating to J&K. "But I would advise him never to use offensive language and words like 'cheating and deceiving' in that context',? Advani said on his blog. Advani had recently said Article 370 should be revoked. Abdullah had responded to this without naming Advani and slammed him for raising the "false boggy of revocation" of the provision. Holding that it is "highly improper" for anyone to use offensive words like "cheating" in the context of BJP's stand on J-K, Advani said his party has "not only been unequivocal, forthright and consistent from the time Jana Sangh (BJP's predecessor) was born in 1951 till today, but it is an issue for which the Party's Founder President laid down his own life?.' "Since our very first all India session at Kanpur, we have been championing complete integration of J&K State with India,” Advani said. Editorial WARNING BELLS The Establishment Will Remain Silent After the monsoon flood victims in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Assam and elsewhere will be forgotten. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s reconstruction and rehabilitation package will soon meet with bureaucratic red-tapism and nothing much will come out of his endeavours. Tall promises will be made which will not be fulfilled. The media will also find another stories to sell and the people will also reconcile themselves to accepting their tragic fate. This is exactly how India is run. Nothing much happened to Sikkim after the September 18, 2011 earthquake. Only local contractors and construction companies have thrived in the tragedy. The manner in which the entire establishment, including the army, woke up to the Uttarakhand tragedy has been and will be repeated in other parts of India. People paid for administrative lapses. Government officials should have been sent to affected places within hours of the tragedy to take stock of the situation. Army choppers in great numbers should have been dispatched with adequate food, clothing, medicine, blankets and other items in the affected areas straight after the tragic incident. Too much focus was placed on pilgrims stuck in the hills while neglecting the local populace. The monsoons have just begun and warning bells are coming from everywhere. It is time to sit up and take note. The English poet John Donne said in the 17th century: “No man is an island… Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” Editorial WARNING BELLS The Establishment Will Remain Silent After the monsoon flood victims in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Assam and elsewhere will be forgotten. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s reconstruction and rehabilitation package will soon meet with bureaucratic red-tapism and nothing much will come out of his endeavours. Tall promises will be made which will not be fulfilled. The media will also find another stories to sell and the people will also reconcile themselves to accepting their tragic fate. This is exactly how India is run. Nothing much happened to Sikkim after the September 18, 2011 earthquake. Only local contractors and construction companies have thrived in the tragedy. The manner in which the entire establishment, including the army, woke up to the Uttarakhand tragedy has been and will be repeated in other parts of India. People paid for administrative lapses. Government officials should have been sent to affected places within hours of the tragedy to take stock of the situation. Army choppers in great numbers should have been dispatched with adequate food, clothing, medicine, blankets and other items in the affected areas straight after the tragic incident. Too much focus was placed on pilgrims stuck in the hills while neglecting the local populace. The monsoons have just begun and warning bells are coming from everywhere. It is time to sit up and take note. The English poet John Donne said in the 17th century: “No man is an island… Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” Sonia approves proposal to reconstitute Sikkim PCC New Delhi, July 2: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday approved the proposal for reconstituting the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee, besides also appointing President of the Pradesh Mahila Congress. Gandhi cleared the appointment of Major T Gyatso and Penzo D Namgyal as senior vice presidents, Anil Lachenpa as treasurer and Rudra N Sakya as general secretary of the Sikkim PCC, PTI reported. Sarita Sharma has been made the president of the Pradesh Mahila Congress, said AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi. Gandhi appointed Gayching Bhutia, Jagdish Cintury, Buddhibal Gurung and Deepak Sharma as District Congress Presidents in Sikkim. Following the removal of the SPCC President NB Bhandari in April this year, the party high command appointed Kunga Nima Lepcha to replace Bhandari, who returned to his old party, the Sikkim Sangram Parishad, and became its President. Manipur royal palace takeover: plea to President for scuttling govt move Manipur’s titular king Leishemba Sanajaoba coming out from the Royal Palace to attend a traditional function in Imphal. Imphal, July 2: Against the recent state cabinet's decision to take over the Manipur royal palace, the "Maharaja in Council", a prominent body of the palace, has urged President PranabMukherjee to pressure the state government to revoke its decision. A memorandum was sent to the President a couple of days ago, said the council's legal adviser, advocate P Tomcha, on Saturday. A body of Tangkhul village chiefs has also joined the growing demand to revoke the decision, The Times of India reported. Along with several social organizations, the council demanded the state government to roll back its decision and maintain the palace in which the titular king of Manipur stays as a "living palace" and a customary institution. The cabinet that met on June 22 with Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the chair resolved to take over 12 to 13 acres of the palace area in the heart of Imphal and develop it to retain the glorious era of Manipur's existence as an independent nation in the past. While deciding to construct a house for the king near the royal palace after taking over the area, the cabinet maintained that the king's customary rights will remain undisturbed. A joint delegation of the council and "Sana Konung Semgat Lup" (SKSL), an apex body set up by different organizations for the overall development of the palace, will go to New Delhi to meet the President to discuss the matter soon, said Tomcha. While urging the President to impose central rule if the state fails to retract its decision, the council threatened to launch various forms of agitations if the government doesn't revoke its decision in 10 days. On the other hand, the king, who had not taken food since the cabinet passed its decision, broke his fast on Thursday after fervent requests made by the council and SKSL leaders, said Tomcha. Since the king is living in the palace and performing all customary rites and rituals as the sole authority, it is his rights to stay there as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution, Tomcha argued. On several occasions, the state government abortively attempted to take over the palace and it made its utmost effort in 2006, he said, adding that following public protest, the government was forced to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the SKSL. The process of acquiring the palace area should remain suspended until a final agreement is reached between the state government and SKSL, said Tomcha. Northeast militants have formed 'United Forum': Tripura CM Agartala, July 2: India's northeast region was under serious threat as several militant outfits had come together on a common platform called the United Forum, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said in New Delhi last month. "Reliable reports indicate that most of the northeast India insurgent groups, including NLFT ( National Liberation Front of Tripura), have formed a common platform called "United Forum", which might pose a serious threat to all the northeastern states and to the country as a whole," Sarkar said in his speech at the conference of chief ministers, PTI reported. Demanding additional central forces and strengthening vigil along the India-Bangladesh international border, Sarkar said: "The NLFT has as many as 19 hideouts in Bangladesh and these are located within 10km of India-Bangladesh border. The militant groups are trying to make fresh recruitments." The Chief Ministers of Northeast states sought the Centre's help in launching coordinated action against insurgents taking shelter in various states as well as neighbouring countries. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said coordinated action was needed in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya if training, arms supply transit routes and shelters of militants are to be chocked. "Myanmar remains a foreign sanctuary and there are efforts to reopen camps in Bhutan. Any reversal by a future Bangladeshi regime of the drive against Indian militants will revive the spectre of inviolate sanctuaries across our borders," he said at the conference of CMs on internal security here. His Mizoram counterpart Lal Thanhawla said various militant groups from neighbouring Northeast states and countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh have taken advantage of the porous and inhospitable terrain along the inter-state and international borders. "This has direct bearing on the internal security for not only Mizoram, but also for the whole northeastern states as insurgent groups used it as a conduit for arms smuggling and for crossing over to neighbouring countries for seeking refuge or training," he said. Representing Sikkim, state Urban Development Minister D B Thapa said formation of separate states may renew unrest in the region adjoining Sikkim. Thapa said that its adverse effect will also be experienced in Sikkim which has its distinct identity and cultural heritage.

HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN     Wednesday July 3-9, 2013  
‘SIKKIMESE NEPALESE’ UP IN ARMS AGAINST ‘FOREIGNER’ TAG
Biraj    Bhandari    Duknath
Gangtok, July 2: Their reserved seats in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly were illegally and arbitrarily abolished in 1979. This was followed by division of their community with the introduction of OBCs in the former kingdom. Thereafter came another blow: part of OBCs were declared STs in 2003. And now they have been labeled as “foreigners” in a writ petition in the Supreme Court.
The Sikkimese Nepalese leadership in the State has threatened to stage a statewide agitation if the old settlers failed to withdraw their allegation against them in the Supreme Court. The threat worked; the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim (AOSS) has assured it would delete its “unintentional mistakes” in its writ petition filed before the Supreme Court on the income tax issue.
Reacting to the allegation, former Chief Minister and Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) chief Nar Bahadur Bhandari said the Association’s submissions were “false” and added that Sikkimese Nepalese were ‘subjects’ of the Chogyal like the Bhutias and Lepchas as they possessed Sikkim Subject Certificates and are, therefore, entitled for IT exemption.
 The Sikkim Liberation Party President Duknath Nepal in a press statement said his party workers have been instructed “to be prepared of any kind of circumstances” in opposing those who have labeled them as foreigners.
“This is not the first time that Sikkimese have been under attack and their rights being impinged upon. From the very first day of being the part of India, there has been grand design against the interest of Sikkimese people,” Nepal said in the statement.
He has pointed out that the Constitution has recognized “only three ethnic communities as the bonafide of Sikkim, and they are Bhutia, Lepcha and Nepali” and not those who represent the business community in the State.
The Sikkim National People’s Party (SNPP) feels betrayed by old settlers of the State for describing Sikkimese Nepalese as “foreigners” in their writ petition in the Supreme Court.
“The SNPP strongly condemns the choice of words used in the petition to describe the Sikkimese of Nepali origin as foreigners, which shows an absolute lack of sensitivity on the part of the petitioners regarding the sentiment and pride of the majority community who, incidentally, have been supporting the petitioners in their efforts to exempt themselves from paying Income Tax from the beginning,” SNPP President Biraj Adhikari said in a Press statement.
“The party feels this is a betrayal of the trust which has existed for so long and is of the opinion that just a simple apology to the Nepali community will not suffice, and the petitioners will have to make visible efforts in order bring back the trust as it was,” Adhikari said.
Adhikari said, “till the seat reservation (in the Assembly) is restored, the Sikkimese of Nepali origin will not get their due even after having papers like the Sikkim Subject Certificate, and will be subject to these demeaning accusations in the future also.”
While condemning the allegation, the Sikkimey Nepali Jaatiya Sangharsha Samiti  has threatened to stage a state-wide non-cooperation movement if members of the old settlers in the State fail to apologize and rectify the mistake in the writ petition.
The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) President KN Sharma said the “so-called older settlers” of the former kingdom refused to accept Sikkim subject status when it was given to all residents of Sikkim under certain criteria in 1961. They should now not label “native Sikkimese Nepalese as foreigner,” the release said.
“The IT exemption by Government is constitutionally guaranteed to the native Sikkimese under the preview of the provisions granted under article 371F which excludes these so-called old settlers,” Sharma said.
China lifts 17-year ban on Dalai Lama photos at Tibet monastery: Rights group
Beijing, July 2: Chinese officials have lifted a ban on Tibetan monks displaying photographs of the Dalai Lama at a prominent monastery, a rights group said on Thursday, an unexpected policy shift which could ease tensions in the restive region.
The decision concerning the Gaden monastery in the Tibetan capital Lhasa - one of the most historically important religious establishments in Tibet - reversed a ban introduced in 1996, the Britain-based Free Tibet group told Reuters, citing sources with direct knowledge of the situation.
   It was made as similar changes are being considered in other Tibetan regions of China, and may signal authorities are contemplating looser religious restrictions and a policy change over Tibet, three months after President Xi Jinping took office.
Chinese officials in western Qinghai province are also considering lifting a ban on Tibetans displaying pictures of the exiled spiritual leader, according to the International Campaign for Tibet, a US-based advocacy group.
It said there were also draft proposals in the region to end the practice of forcing Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama, and to decrease the police presence at monasteries. Officials in Lhasa and Qinghai could not immediately be reached for comment.
Such measures appear calculated to reduce tensions between the Tibetans and the government after a series of Tibetan self-immolation protests against Chinese rule. Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, who fled China in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, a violent separatist.
The Dalai Lama, who is based in India, says he is merely seeking greater autonomy for his Himalayan homeland. Since 2009, at least 120 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China in protest against Beijing's policies in Tibet and nearby regions with large Tibetan populations.
Most were calling for the return of the Dalai Lama. "Tibetans' reverence for and loyalty to the Dalai Lama has almost no equal among the world's communities and if this policy is extended beyond this individual monastery as other reports suggest, it will be very significant for the Tibetan people," Free Tibet spokesman Alistair Currie said.
The new policy at the Gaden monastery and the discussions in Qinghai come after a scholar from the Central Party School published an essay questioning China's policy on Tibet. So far, President Xi has said very little publicly about Tibet.
His late father, Xi Zhongxun, a liberal-minded former vice premier, was close to the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan leader once gave the elder Xi an expensive watch in the 1950s, a gift the senior party official still wore decades later.
"There's increasingly a view that due to the critical nature of the situation of Tibet, a discussion of a change in some hardline policies is merited and there's a need for the Dalai Lama to be involved in some way," Kate Saunders, spokeswoman for the International Campaign for Tibet, Reuters reported.
Saunders said the draft proposals in Qinghai were likely to be implemented either in August or September.
Advani slams Omar, says BJP always opposed special status to J&K
New Delhi, July 2: Against the backdrop of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah slamming him on the issue of revocation of special status to the state, senior BJP leader LK Advani on Friday advised him not to use words like cheating and deceiving and clarified that his party has always been opposed to Article 370.
In his latest blog posting, Advani said even the Congress party- other than Jawaharlal Nehru and a few other leaders- were strongly opposed to giving a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, PTI reported.
Advani quotes from a biography of Sardar Patel to argue that even he was against Article 370 but kept his views in the background out of his regard for Nehru.
"Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir state, has every right to disagree with the BJP on matters relating to J&K.
"But I would advise him never to use offensive language and words like 'cheating and deceiving' in that context',? Advani said on his blog.  Advani had recently said Article 370 should be revoked.
Abdullah had responded to this without naming Advani and slammed him for raising the "false boggy of revocation" of the provision.
Holding that it is "highly improper" for anyone to use offensive words like "cheating" in the context of BJP's stand on J-K, Advani said his party has "not only been unequivocal, forthright and consistent from the time Jana Sangh (BJP's predecessor) was born in 1951 till today, but it is an issue for which the Party's Founder President laid down his own life?.'
"Since our very first all India session at Kanpur, we have been championing complete integration of J&K State with India,” Advani said.
Editorial
WARNING BELLS
The Establishment Will Remain Silent
After the monsoon flood victims in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Assam and elsewhere will be forgotten. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s reconstruction and rehabilitation package will soon meet with bureaucratic red-tapism and nothing much will come out of his endeavours. Tall promises will be made which will not be fulfilled. The media will also find another stories to sell and the people will also reconcile themselves to accepting their tragic fate. This is exactly how India is run. Nothing much happened to Sikkim after the September 18, 2011 earthquake. Only local contractors and construction companies have thrived in the tragedy.
   The manner in which the entire establishment, including the army, woke up to the Uttarakhand tragedy has been and will be repeated in other parts of India. People paid for administrative lapses. Government officials should have been sent to affected places within hours of the tragedy to take stock of the situation. Army choppers in great numbers should have been dispatched with adequate food, clothing, medicine, blankets and other items in the affected areas straight after the tragic incident. Too much focus was placed on pilgrims stuck in the hills while neglecting the local populace.  The monsoons have just begun and warning bells are coming from everywhere. It is time to sit up and take note. The English poet John Donne said in the 17th century: “No man is an island… Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
Editorial
WARNING BELLS
The Establishment Will Remain Silent
After the monsoon flood victims in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Assam and elsewhere will be forgotten. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s reconstruction and rehabilitation package will soon meet with bureaucratic red-tapism and nothing much will come out of his endeavours. Tall promises will be made which will not be fulfilled. The media will also find another stories to sell and the people will also reconcile themselves to accepting their tragic fate. This is exactly how India is run. Nothing much happened to Sikkim after the September 18, 2011 earthquake. Only local contractors and construction companies have thrived in the tragedy.
   The manner in which the entire establishment, including the army, woke up to the Uttarakhand tragedy has been and will be repeated in other parts of India. People paid for administrative lapses. Government officials should have been sent to affected places within hours of the tragedy to take stock of the situation. Army choppers in great numbers should have been dispatched with adequate food, clothing, medicine, blankets and other items in the affected areas straight after the tragic incident. Too much focus was placed on pilgrims stuck in the hills while neglecting the local populace.  The monsoons have just begun and warning bells are coming from everywhere. It is time to sit up and take note. The English poet John Donne said in the 17th century: “No man is an island… Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
Sonia approves proposal to reconstitute Sikkim PCC
New Delhi, July 2: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday approved the proposal for reconstituting the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee, besides also appointing President of the Pradesh Mahila Congress.
Gandhi cleared the appointment of Major T Gyatso and Penzo D Namgyal as senior vice presidents, Anil Lachenpa as treasurer and Rudra N Sakya as general secretary of the Sikkim PCC, PTI reported.
Sarita Sharma has been made the president of the Pradesh Mahila Congress, said AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi.
Gandhi appointed Gayching Bhutia, Jagdish Cintury, Buddhibal Gurung and Deepak Sharma as District Congress Presidents in Sikkim.
Following the removal of the SPCC President NB Bhandari in April this year, the party high command appointed Kunga Nima Lepcha to replace Bhandari, who returned to his old party, the Sikkim Sangram Parishad, and became its President.
Manipur royal palace takeover: plea to President for scuttling govt move
Manipur’s titular king Leishemba Sanajaoba coming out from the Royal Palace to attend a traditional function in Imphal.
Imphal, July 2: Against the recent state cabinet's decision to take over the Manipur royal palace, the "Maharaja in Council", a prominent body of the palace, has urged President PranabMukherjee to pressure the state government to revoke its decision.
A memorandum was sent to the President a couple of days ago, said the council's legal adviser, advocate P Tomcha, on Saturday. A body of Tangkhul village chiefs has also joined the growing demand to revoke the decision, The Times of India reported.
Along with several social organizations, the council demanded the state government to roll back its decision and maintain the palace in which the titular king of Manipur stays as a "living palace" and a customary institution.
The cabinet that met on June 22 with Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the chair resolved to take over 12 to 13 acres of the palace area in the heart of Imphal and develop it to retain the glorious era of Manipur's existence as an independent nation in the past.
While deciding to construct a house for the king near the royal palace after taking over the area, the cabinet maintained that the king's customary rights will remain undisturbed.
A joint delegation of the council and "Sana Konung Semgat Lup" (SKSL), an apex body set up by different organizations for the overall development of the palace, will go to New Delhi to meet the President to discuss the matter soon, said Tomcha.
While urging the President to impose central rule if the state fails to retract its decision, the council threatened to launch various forms of agitations if the government doesn't revoke its decision in 10 days.
On the other hand, the king, who had not taken food since the cabinet passed its decision, broke his fast on Thursday after fervent requests made by the council and SKSL leaders, said Tomcha. Since the king is living in the palace and performing all customary rites and rituals as the sole authority, it is his rights to stay there as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution, Tomcha argued.
On several occasions, the state government abortively attempted to take over the palace and it made its utmost effort in 2006, he said, adding that following public protest, the government was forced to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the SKSL. The process of acquiring the palace area should remain suspended until a final agreement is reached between the state government and SKSL, said Tomcha.
Northeast militants have formed 'United Forum': Tripura CM
Agartala, July 2: India's northeast region was under serious threat as several militant outfits had come together on a common platform called the United Forum, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said in New Delhi last month.
"Reliable reports indicate that most of the northeast India insurgent groups, including NLFT ( National Liberation Front of Tripura), have formed a common platform called "United Forum", which might pose a serious threat to all the northeastern states and to the country as a whole," Sarkar said in his speech at the conference of chief ministers, PTI reported.
Demanding additional central forces and strengthening vigil along the India-Bangladesh international border, Sarkar said: "The NLFT has as many as 19 hideouts in Bangladesh and these are located within 10km of India-Bangladesh border. The militant groups are trying to make fresh recruitments."
The Chief Ministers of Northeast states sought the Centre's help in launching coordinated action against insurgents taking shelter in various states as well as neighbouring countries.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said coordinated action was needed in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya if training, arms supply transit routes and shelters of militants are to be chocked.
"Myanmar remains a foreign sanctuary and there are efforts to reopen camps in Bhutan. Any reversal by a future Bangladeshi regime of the drive against Indian militants will revive the spectre of inviolate sanctuaries across our borders," he said at the conference of CMs on internal security here.
His Mizoram counterpart Lal Thanhawla said various militant groups from neighbouring Northeast states and countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh have taken advantage of the porous and inhospitable terrain along the inter-state and international borders.
"This has direct bearing on the internal security for not only Mizoram, but also for the whole northeastern states as insurgent groups used it as a conduit for arms smuggling and for crossing over to neighbouring countries for seeking refuge or training," he said.
Representing Sikkim, state Urban Development Minister D B Thapa said formation of separate states may renew unrest in the region adjoining Sikkim.
Thapa said that its adverse effect will also be experienced in Sikkim which has its distinct identity and cultural heritage.



No comments:

Post a Comment