Golay reiterates SKM on course for resounding electoral victory

KUNAL RAI

GANGTOK,: Chief Minister and SKM president PS Golay on Saturday attended the party’s coordination meeting and joining programme for Tumin-Lingee at Adampool near Gangtok. He welcomed a large number of families into the SKM at the programme also attended by SKM Lok Sabha candidate Indra Hang Subba, Tumin-Lingee candidate Samdup Tshering Bhutia, party functionaries and workers.

In his address, Golay reiterated that the SKM had to weigh several factors and be inclusive while selecting its candidates for the 32 Assembly constituencies and the lone Lok Sabha seat so that representation is given to every section of the Sikkimese society. He expressed that Samdup Tshering Bhutia, despite losing the 2019 election with a slim margin, has been continuously serving the people of Tumin-Lingee, and deserves another chance considering his dedication to the public and the party.

On the occasion, social worker Phurba Rinzing Sherpa and his well-wishers joined the SKM – a development which Golay said has further confirmed the SKM’s victory in Tumin-Lingee. He urged the people of Tumin-Lingee to unite and ensure a resounding victory for their SKM candidate of the constituency and Lok Sabha candidate Indra Hang Subba.

Golay shared his happiness for sincerely serving the people of Sikkim while tackling severe challenges of Covid pandemic for two years and the 2023 flash flood. We did exceptional work in various sectors like education, health and infrastructure development, besides taking the bold decision to regularize temporary employees who have completed four years of service, he said. He added that around 30,000 temporary employees were regularized by the SKM government.

The SKM president asserted his confidence of a clean sweep for the SKM in the 2024 elections while remarking that the party would have a tough system regarding entry into the party. The SKM party’s train is almost full…only one coach is left and those aspiring for ‘Sunaulo Sikkim and Samriddha Sikkim’ can join us now, he said.

Golay told the gathering that Indra Hang, as the lone Lok Sabha member from Sikkim, consistently spoke in the Parliament for Sikkim and brought to attention various demands of Sikkim including Limboo-Tamang Assembly seat reservation and tribal status for the 12 left-out communities.

In his address, SKM Lok Sabha candidate Indra Hang Subba thanked the people of Sikkim for giving the opportunity in 2019 to serve them and Sikkim as their representative in the Parliament. I have always spoken in the Parliament on issues related with Sikkim and Sikkimese, asserted Indra Hang while also extending his apologies for not meeting the expectations on certain areas due to various reasons.

Indra Hang expressed that in the past, there was a notion that the Sikkim Lok Sabha MP’s responsibility was limited to the Parliament only. During my term, I did my responsibility as the MP from Sikkim in the Parliament as sought by the people and the party leadership and at the same time, I visited all the constituencies of Sikkim, met the people and served them to the best of my ability, he mentioned.

The sitting MP pointed out that he had voted against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill (now an Act) in the Parliament, prompting the Union Home minister to record in the Lok Sabha that the Citizenship Amendment Act will not be implemented in Sikkim. In contrast, the MP from the former ruling party had voted in favour of the bill, he said.

Indra Hang expressed his confidence that voters of Tumin-Lingee will cast their votes in favour of the SKM considering the remarkable work done during these five years by the SKM government.

Addressing the gathering, the SKM Tumin-Lingee candidate mentioned that constituency requires development in all sectors, especially to harness the tremendous tourism potential of the area. The developmental model lies in our hands but to achieve it, I urge the people of Tumin-Lingee to unite and give a landslide electoral victory, he said.