Chamling announce reforms in SDF within “collective leadership” policy

GANGTOK,: Former Chief Minister Pawan Chamling has shared the newly introduced policy of ‘collective leadership’ within the SDF will empower people making them the central force in politics and “finish the dirty game of political power brokers and irresponsible opportunists”.
The SDF president was replying to his weekly Q&A series wherein he was asked on the ‘collective leadership’ party line announced by him on March 4, a SDF press release on Sunday informs.
“The philosophy of democracy is inclusive. Democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people. What is happening in Sikkim is that politics is being controlled by so-called leaders and people have just been exploited as vote banks. People are mere spectators who clap to cheer these ‘leaders’ on. I have always advocated for politics where people are the main players and they should have full control of the leaders,” said Chamling.
“My idea of democracy is ‘janta raj ma jantai raja”.  But somehow the people’s power is being bargained and traded as we are seeing presently. So called leaders are buying and selling their posts and positions that the people had given them to serve Sikkim. This is why we felt the need to introduce the idea of collective leadership,” said Chamling.
The SDF president informed that the party will strengthen channels of communication with the grassroots and empower the people at the grassroots to voice their concerns and opinions. The leaders at the grassroots will be empowered to participate in decision making, he said as per the SDF release.
“It was our failure to not see that many political brokers, opportunist and irresponsible so-called leaders had infested our party who were taking advantage of the people’s trust. They used the people’s trust to become MLAs, chairpersons etc. Now we will have collective leadership at all levels and channels of communication will always be open.”
The SDF president added that the party will organise regular ‘janta darbars’ where people will be invited to talk, criticize and make suggestions where the party leaders will sit, listen and make notes. We will have a shadow cabinet and shadow opposition within the party to engage in civilized and frank discussion on policies, principles and internal democracy, he said.
“We will have experts on various fields in the party leadership to make the party relevant in all spheres of human life. The SDF party will now become the most child-friendly, youth-friendly, elderly-friendly, housewife friendly, stay at home fathers friendly, differently-abled friendly party. We will engage experts to discuss unemployment issues, grievances and the hardships of employees - both in the government and private sectors, entrepreneurship, press and media issues.”
“We will raise the level of green politics in Sikkim, making the SDF party the greenest party in India. The SDF party leadership will include prominent citizens who have worked in these areas. There will be a reverse ‘janta darbar’ where leaders will submit their reports back to the people,”
Chamling said the main mantra of SDF would be ‘continuity with change’. We will always mix the fresh ‘josh’ of the youth with the time-tested experience and ‘hos’ of senior leaders, he said.
The SDF’s collective leadership will finish the politics of power brokers and their ‘barefaced deceit and duplicitous politics’ (labastaro politics), said the SDF president.