Saturday, May 31, 2025 23:30 [IST]
Last Update: Friday, May 30, 2025 17:48 [IST]
Under whose sponsorship is Harka
trying to turn Sikkim into a district?: SNS
GANGTOK,: The Sikkimey Nagarik Samaj (SNS) has strongly condemned former Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chettri for resorting to a “publicity stunt” at Rangpo check post to push forward his Sikkim-Darjeeling merger “propaganda” which grossly undermines Sikkim.
Chettri,
also the Jan Andolan Party (JAP) president, had been stopped and returned from
Rangpo check post by Sikkim Police on Thursday. He had publicly announced to
reach Gangtok and submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the
Sikkim-Darjeeling merger.
The
Prime Minister was scheduled to attend the Statehood Golden Jubilee
celebrations at Paljor Stadium but made a virtual address as inclement weather
curtailed his trip from Bagdogra Airport.
“The
Sikkimey Nagarik Samaj strongly opposes the Sikkim-Darjeeling merger demand.
Harka Bahadur Chettri and his group grossly undermined Sikkim by attempting to
bring forward his demand in Sikkim at a time when our State is celebrating 50
years of its Statehood Day. He is trying to degrade Sikkim, a full-fledged
State, into a district. His intention is not merger but to turn Sikkim into a
district,” said SNS chief coordinator Sangay Gyatso Sherpa at a press meet here
on Friday.
Sherpa
stressed that the former Kalimpong MLA was resorting to propaganda politics by
showing up at Rangpo when he fully knew that meeting the Prime Minister
requires prior clearance.
“Harka
Bahadur Chettri fully knew that he cannot meet the Prime Minister without
clearance from the PMO. He was also not an invited guest for the Statehood
celebrations. Despite this, he made the publicity stunt of trying to enter
Sikkim through Rangpo checkpost. This leads to the question on whose
sponsorship is he doing such audacious acts. He tried to defame the Sikkim
government and SNS, despite being critical of the government on many issues,
does not tolerate interference of outsiders in the internal matters of Sikkim,”
said the SNS chief coordinator.
Sherpa
said the people of Kalimpong-Darjeeling hills are seeking Gorkhaland State, a
demand which the people of Sikkim and the Sikkim government have been
supporting.
“Harka
Bahadur Chettri should understand that their demand is Gorkhaland and not
merger of Sikkim-Darjeeling. The people of Kalimpong-Darjeeling have launched
movements for Gorkhaland for which many lives have been lost but he is doing
divisionary politics with the people there also. We can safely assume that he
is anti-Gorkhaland and anti-Sikkim, and urge the people of both regions not to
pay heed to his propaganda,” said the SNS chief coordinator.
Sherpa
was accompanied by SNS executive members Yogesh Chettri and Rohan Gurung.