NASBO rejects Governor’s Budget address

ORGANISATION REITERATES OPPOSITION TO ANY INCREASE IN ASSEMBLY STRENGTH WITHOUT PROPORTIONATE INCREASE IN BL REPRESENTATION
GANGTOK, 27 March: The National Sikkimese Bhutia Organization [NASBO 371F], following a general meeting held yesterday, resolved to reject the “content and intention” of the Governor’s address to the Budget Session of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly with regard to the demand for increase of the Assembly strength from 32 to 40 without proportionate increase in the number of Bhutia-Lepcha reserved seats.
A press release issued by the NASBO publicity secretary, Karma Denka, states, “It is very unfortunate that the Head of State should come forward with his anti-Bhutia Lepcha agenda openly in the Sikkim Assembly.”

The release adds that the NASBO meeting, presided over by its president Sonam Kaleon, regretted that “despite numerous representations” of the Sikkimese Bhutia Lepchas for proportionate increase in the number of BL seats in the event that the strength of the Assembly is increased, the Governor still presented “such biased address”.
Stating that NASBO has lost faith in the Governor, the release adds that the proposal to increase Assembly strength without proportionate increase in BL seats is “most disappointing”.
The release also expresses disappointment in the failure of the BL MLAs to raise any objection to the Governor’s statement and convey’s NASBO’s resolve to “impress upon the concerned authority to have their say in such eventualities”.