GANGTOK: Roads & Bridges Minister, RB Subba, broke his silence on the Singling violence Friday and presented his stand on the recent incident in which his supporters are alleged to have attacked a local resident while the Minister was on a door-to-door campaign there on 18 March. [background on Singling here, here, here, here, here and here]
Addressing a press conference here at the Sikkim Legislative Assembly conference hall, the Minister stated that the incident had been “blown out of proportion” by the media and supporters of opposition parties, including the disaffected SDF MLA, PS Tamang (Goley).
“The fight between Jiwan Gurung and Rajen Tamang was not instigated by me. In fact I was not even present at the spot when the fight broke out. I was busy on a door-to-door visit at least half an hour away from where the incident took place,” contended Mr. Subba.
He also dismissed allegations which claimed that the weapon used to attack Rajen Tamang was taken from his vehicle which was parked around 300 meters away from where the fight broke out.
“I have a PSO detailed for my protection me so why do I need anyone to carry a khukuri? This is a set-up, an attempt to frame me. But then, what can you expect from people who are so blinded by personal pursuits that they cannot understand the programmes and policies of the state government”.
It may also be informed here that the SDF has initiated a door-to-door outreach campaign across the State being led by the respective MLAs. The R&B Minister has covered 48 wards in the 10 Blocks in his constituency [Soreng-Chakung] since he began on 23 February.
“We are asking people about their problems and also explaining the new schemes launched for their benefit. It was during such a meeting at Singling that the SDF youth convener of the area, Jiwan Gurung, and Rajen Tamang had a scuffle after which many of the youth there started abusing and shouted slogans against the SDF party,” Mr. Subba said.
The Minister also insisted today that Rajen Tamang, who sustained a grievous injury from a khukuri attack allegedly by Jiwan Gurung, instigated the fight where a kitchen had been set-up for persons assisting the door to door campaign.
He also alleged that the entire episode was a ‘pre-meditated’ altercation instigated by the “PS Goley Group” which was prepared for a confrontation.
“It was a personal vendetta that these individuals wanted to settle and linking my name to it is really disheartening as I have initiated many good works in the constituency,” Mr. Subba claims.
He stated that under the directions of the Chief Minister, the Soreng- Chakung constituency was now undergoing a “positive transformation” since areas such as Chota-Samdong, Aru-Bhotey, Tamthok, Mendo Gaon, Chumbung and the lower belt of Chakung had collapsed to a very poor state of affairs during the years that Mr. Tamang was the MLA.
“I have proposed a total of 181 crores for the development of this constituency and also pushed the rural housing scheme by increasing the existing benefit to over Rs. 4 lakh per family. We have distributed benefits for smaller housing, development of new roads, repair of existing ones and GCI sheets for the underprivileged sections. Every place I visited, people were in a poor state, this is proof to what the previous MLA had done to the people of his constituency.
While stating that it was only a small section of people who were ‘instigating’ the people against the SDF, he announced that neither the party nor he himself would take this laying low. “I just want the people to know the ground reality because many have reported irresponsibly on the issue. The law should take its course and I myself will be happy to assist in the investigation. They are out to defame me and our party which we will not keep silent about. These few people are paper-tigers and have no issue other than to insult the dynamism of our party,” he stresed.
He further commented that it was Mr. Tamang who had “run away” from responsibilities entrusted on him [as the Burtuk MLA], obviously upset because he was not included in the Cabinet. “It is his ego which has come between him and the party,” Mr. Subba said of Mr. Tamang’s present confrontational stand.
It is sad to see the state of sikkim now where the citizens of the state are no longer safe. There is violence happening everywhere in the name of policitcs.. I think it's high time the SDF government should start thinking of bringing about a change for the betterment of the people of sikim. The government should be a people's government and not a dictatorial one, which is seemingly visible day by day. I urge the fellow citizens of the state of sikkim to come forward and support and nurture good leaders who can tranform Sikkim into a place everyone dreams of. It's high time we should support the ideals of our next generation leader, Mr, P.S Golay who seems to be the only next alternative to a better democracy. May the peoples choice WIN!!!
ReplyDeleteYou know, at the start of your letter you gave me every indication of being a sensible person. Yes, the state of affairs in Sikkim could have been better and the current status quo engenders nothing but disillusionment.
ReplyDeleteBut, by proclaiming PS Golay to be our 'only next alternative' you now, much to my utter disappointment, give me the impression of being a masochist who desperately needs clinical supervision. PS Golay is, in fact, the last person Sikkim requires at this point of time. We need a CM who is not only a visionary and uncorrupt, but also somebody who transcends the vileness of identity politics.
To call Golay a visionary is to stretch one’s imagination far beyond any permissible limit; in fact, his visions don’t go beyond the narrowness of vendetta against Chamling. Secondly, can he be expected to come down heavily on corruption? The answer is obviously ‘no’. Golay will create his own clique of corrupt contractors, engineers and bureaucrats while the ‘aam janta’ will continue to be looted. To even say suggest that Golay is the “next best alternative” for Sikkim is like a slap on the face of all the Sikkimese. The very implication that Sikkim can produce no better leader than him is most unflattering, to say the least.
I’m not entirely in favour of blaming the government for all the ills that prevail in the society today. But somehow, there has a drastic change in the way people of Sikkim talk and behave today. I don’t know if being impolite and seeking monetary rewards for the job you are paid to do, are necessary prerequisites of a progressive state. But since this is how things are at the moment and since we are repeatedly told we are progressing, I presume these are attendant accoutrements that one must accept.