GANGTOK, 07 Feb: The
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha [SKM] has submitted a strongly worded memorandum to
the Election Commission of India. Senior officials of the Commission were here
in Gangtok recently when they met with various political parties of the state
in preparation for the upcoming elections. The memorandum submitted by SKM
alleges various malpractices on the part of the State government when it comes
to the arena of elections and electioneering. The memorandum goes on to seek
the imposition of President’s Rule in Sikkim, arguing that only that could
guarantee free and fair elections.
The memorandum alleges
that the present State government uses senior bureaucrats and technocrats,
including the Chief Secretary, as party functionaries. It also alleges the
involvement of top IPS officers, who, the SKM contends, work only for the
interest of the ruling party.
In this regard, the name
of IG Akshay Sachdeva has been mentioned specifically with mention made of the
infamous lathicharge of 11 February last year and the report of the commission
appointed by the apex court.
The SKM is particularly
disturbed by the fact that the IGP has been appointed the nodal officer for
monitoring the election expenditure for the upcoming elections. This, the SKM
argues, is in violation of the Election Commission of India Model Check List.
Besides allegations of
the misuse and involvement of senior officials in party politics, the
memorandum goes on to allege tampering of the electronic voting machines as
well. In this context, the document highlights the incident of the fire in the EVM
store at the gymnasium hall, Paljor Stadium in 2009.
Lastly the document seeks
revision and checking of the voter’s list, arguing that many genuine names have
been deleted.
The memorandum was
submitted by SKM vice president, TN Dhakal. The response of the ECI remains to
be seen.
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