Golay’s party today, supporters continue quitting SDF to be at Singling

GANGTOK, 03 Feb: Rebel SDF legislator Prem Singh Tamang [Golay] is expected to formally announce his own regional political outfit at Singling in West Sikkim on Monday. With the party announcement lined up, his supporters still in the Sikkim Democratic Front have begun tendering their resignations. In this series of resignations, Prahalad Bhattarai and Tara Prasad Bhattarai of Namcheybong constituency also quit SDF on Saturday. It is informed that Mr. Bhattarai was a CEC member and Tara Prasad Bhattarai has a primary membership.
Similarly, Chewang Dadul Bhutia of Arithang constituency also submitted his resignation from both of his active and ordinary posts from the SDF party. It is informed that he joined the party on 03 April 2004. There have also been some resignations from Jortehang, the Golay camp informs.
Meanwhile, according to close aides of Mr. Tamang, 04 Feb was recommended as the best astrological date for the formation of the new party. The party, it may be recalled was supposed to have been launched last October, but kept getting postponed. There is no turning back for the promoters of the new party any more since formal invitations have already been sent out along with public appeals. What remains to be see however is the composition of the new outfit and what position Mr. Tamang will take in it.
Sources inform that the party’s flag and central executive committee members will be announced on Monday, along with issues that the party plans to take up immediately.
A close aide of Mr. Tamang further informs that the party will maintain one-person, one-post rule and that the constitution has also been drafted in the same lines. It is learnt that a ‘strong step’ against the proposed repeal of Registration of Companies (Sikkim) Act 1961 will be announced on Monday as well.
Sources further inform that the constitution-level branches of the new party were to be established simultaneously, however, since supporters from different areas were keen to attend the party announcement function at Singling, this has been withheld for two days.

Namkha announces plans to quit SDF in support of Golay

FORMER OBC BOARD CHAIRPERSON BHARATI SHARMA EXPLAINS WHY SHE RESIGNED FROM RULING PARTY
GANGTOK, 01 Feb: The sequence of resignations from the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front in the run-up to the 04 February launch of dissident MLA PS Tamang’s political party continued today with former Minister Namkha Gyaltsen announcing that he too would be tendering his resignation from the SDF.
A three time Sangha MLA, Mr. Gyaltsen joined the SDF in February 2004. He was the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee president at the time. He was first elected as a Sangha MLA on a Sikkim Sangram Parishad ticket and served as a Minister for 6 months in 1994 during the Congress government of Sanchaman Limboo.
Addressing a press conference today, Mr Gyaltsen alleged that SDF and its government had become a ‘one man show’ and delivered an ‘autocratic government’, which was why he decided to leave the party. He said that there was a ‘need for change’ in Sikkim now and believes that the medium for this change will come on 04 February in the form of new party of the PS Tamang [Golay].
Also today, four more active members of the ruling party submitted their resignations at the party headquarters. They are: Babita Chettri, Junu Chettri, Linus Lepcha and Jyoti Gurung.
Earlier last week, former OBC Board chairperson, Bharati Sharma, who was a CEC member of the ruling party, also quit the SDF. Addressing a press conference today, she said that the Chief Minister, who is also the SDF party president has been working against the principles and policies of the party.
Ms Sharma resigned from the party on 21 January and today announced support for the new party of the dissident MLA.
She accused the CM of playing divide and rule politics and made specific reference to the Chettri, Bahun and Newar communities still awaiting inclusion in the Central OBC list. The three communities were included as OBC in the State in the year 2003.
“When I was OBC chairperson I asked the CM to speak to the centre to include these communities in the central list but was ignored,” she alleged. Ms Sharma further alleged that the Sanyasi community which was included in the central OBC list in 1999 were shortchanged when the State government superseded this notification by including Sanyasi in the state OBC list along with Chettri, Bahun and Newar in 2003.
On women’s empowerment, she alleged that the ruling party turned to it women cadre only to defend the CM and pointed out that Sikkim has received only seven women legislators through the SDF tenure in power and not sent even one to the Parliament.