A MILESTONE FOR CHAMLING, MILES TO GO FOR SIKKIM

It is a proud moment for Chief Minister Pawan Chamling as his ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), which he heads, completes 23 years in office (Dec 12, 1994-Dec 12, 2017) this week. Chamling’s political maturity is reflected in his admission that while his government has made tremendous progress in all fields there is much more still to be done.

He has blamed the bureaucrats for failure to implement much of his government’s pro-people policies and programmes. At the fag end of his first term in office (1994-1999) the Chief Minister openly admitted that he lacked the right team to lead Sikkim on the right path.

Hopefully, if and when he makes a comeback in the forthcoming Assembly polls (2018 or early 2019) Chamling will have the ideal team that will give top priority to economic and political empowerment of bonafide Sikkimese while preserving Sikkim’s closely-knit social fabric, which at times has taken a battering mainly because of vote-bank politics.

This is a time not only to rejoice in one’s accomplishments but it is also a time for reflection and rejuvenation. Chamling has come a long way but Sikkim has miles to go.