SKM petitions Election Commission seeking President’s Rule

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.