Golay resigns from Chairman post 'under protest'

Burtuk MLA, PS Tamang [Golay]'s aides [right to left], Anand Lama, Bhojraj Rai, Kala Rai
and RK Walling, addressing a press conference in Gangtok on Tuesday to annouce
the MLA's resignation from his Chairmanship.

GANGTOK: Burtuk MLA, PS Tamang, has resigned from the post of Chairman, Commerce & Industrial Development Board, “under protest”. His resignation letter, circulated among the media by his close allies Tuesday, is addressed to the Chief Secretary, with copies marked to the Secretary, Commerce & Industry Department, and the media, and is dated Monday, 21 March.

The letter lists three reasons as having prompted the resignation: “Public life in state is not safe where goons attacked life in presence of public representative; personal properties of citizen are also not safe in the state, where numbers of vehicles pushed under fire and house attacked happens in last one year. But the justices in these cases are in grays; and no democratic rights of the citizens are in the State.”
Addressing a press conference here today, former SDF MLA, Bhoj Raj Rai, since expelled from the party, alleged that the ruling party has targeted people opposed to the government for the last one year and pointed out how, many vehicles belonging to this group were set to fire, with even his house attacked last year.
Matters have come to a head with the Singling episode in West Sikkim where people close to Mr. Tamang clashed with ruling party supporters last Friday.
Drawing attention to the incident, Mr. Rai condemned the fact that a murderous assault on a youth was carried out when the area MLA, RB Subba, was on tour of the village.
Mr Rai further contended that the affected people at Singling were serious about their demand for the resignation of the MLA, Mr. Subba, from his Ministerial as well as MLA posts.
When queried about the SDF call to Mr. Tamang to resign from his MLA-post and come out openly in the political arena, Mr. Rai countered that Mr. Tamang had been elected by the people and hence would not resign of the party’s bidding.
He also condemned the statements issued recently by the SDF spokespersons, Bhim Dahal and PD Rai, against Mr. Tamang and on the Singling episode and added that their fight on various other agendas would continue in earnest all over the State.
He also expressed his satisfaction with the ongoing police follow-up to the Singling incident.
Apart from Mr. Rai, the press briefing on Mr. Tamang’s behalf was also addressed by Kala Rai, RK Waling and Anand Lama.