Limboo -Tamang seat reservation issue flares up

Limboo- Tamang Voluntary Committe today raised the issue of Limboo-Tamang seat reservation in the state assembly ahead of legislative and parliamentary election which is scheduled to be held after 8 months.

It is known to the entire populace of Sikkim that it has been over 2 decades since the Indian government, in accordance with the Constitution of the State, granted the status of Scheduled Tribe to the Limbu-Tamang communities. The process of granting the status of Scheduled Tribe includes more than just looking at the appearance of the people and making the announcement- the decision is made on the basis of the socio-political and economic condition of the communities as well as other characteristics that indicate the social backwardness of the groups. Even then, it has now been over 2 decades since the Limboo-Tamang communities have been deprived of their constitutional rights that the Central and State governments should have secured for them said Yehang Tsong, President of LTVC.

He also said the Limboo-Tamang Communities have not been allotted their Rightful Seat Reservation in the Sikkim State Legislative Assembly: the Two-Faced Betrayal of the SKM Party.

Since the tribal status was granted to the communities in the year 2002, the LTVC has repeatedly raised the issue of them being deprived of their constitutional rights to the ruling State government. Taking up the issue of the Limbu-Tamang seat reservation in the State legislative assembly, the LTVC organized an all-party committee meeting on 16/09/2018. The meeting was attended by all the political and social welfare parties (with the exception of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), Sikkim Limboo Tamang Apex Committee (SILTAC) and the Sikkim Limboo-Tamang Tribal Joint Action Committee (SLTTJAC) who also expressed their sympathies and support towards the issue of Limbu-Tamang seat reservation- even the SKM party was in attendance. All the attending parties agreed that the Limbu-Tamang communities should be given their constitutional right of representation in the state legislative assembly. Shri Birendra Tamling, Shri Uttam Lepcha, Shri Arun Upreti, SN.B. Gurung, Bikash Basnet and Bikash Luksom, all representatives from the SKM party, attended this meeting. The SKIM had devised a formula whereby the LT seat in the State legislative assembly would be guaranteed out of the existing 32 seats itself, contending with the previous formula provided by the SDF by which the overall number of seats would be increased from 32 to 40 out of which 5 would be reserved for LT communities.

Following this, on 22/09/2018 Kunga Nima Lepcha (the member of Sikkim Legislative Assembly from SKM party and Law Minister), on behalf of the LTVC, presented a request letter to Narendra Modi who was conducting a tour of Sikkim at the time, beseeching him to kindly offer his assistance in the issue of the LT seat reservation in the State Legislative Assembly. We would like to humbly request that the letter presented by Kunga Nima Lepcha be made available to the general public.

In order to rise to power in 2019, the SKM party in their manifesto blamed the SDF party for their negligent attitude towards the issue and in turn swore to work for the welfare of the Limbu-Tamang communities with sincerity and alacrity and get them their rightful seat in the legislative assembly. They made the communities believe that their investment in the matter was genuine, that sincerity and honesty were the trademark characteristics of the SKM party, and thus won their trust. Because of this trust and faith in SKM, the Limbu- Tamang communities wholeheartedly supported the party and ensured that they won the 2019 state general elections, becoming the ruling state party.

Relentlessly highlighting the issue of the LT seat reservation, the LTVC had submitted a memorandum of request referencing 22 related affirmations for the issue to Shri Indra Hang Subba, the MP from Sikkim as well as the Chairman of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, Party Level Consultation Committee on Limboo-Tamang Seat Reservation in Sikkim Legislative Assembly. Asserting that the LT seat reservation should be made from the 32 existing seats itself, the LTVC had placed their demand in front of the committee.

Unfortunately, this committee by the SKM party that was formed under the chairmanship of Indra Hang Subba has not yet publicized the committee report or the formula to be used.

The SKM party merely made use oft the LTVC and the Limbu-Tamang communities to rise to power before betraying our trust. Since some members of the present ruling State government have filed a case in the Supreme Court, the committee has found a further reason to back away from their responsibility towards the Limbu Tamang communities, citing that it is now subject to the pending decision from the court. It is clear from this that in 2019, he SKM party wielded the issue of the LT seat reservation in order to garner support from the communities during the general elections, a manipulative move that secured them their victory. In the present day, the SKM-BJP joint state government has still not taken any steps towards bringing justice to the Limbu- Tamang communities why this neglect? Isn't this behavior clearly discriminatory? The LTVC emphasizes that the aforementioned steps taken by the SKM government were evidently manipulatory tactics devised in order to keep the two communities from their constitutional right.

The Limbu-Tamang communities, who have been lied to for the past 20 years, will neither wait nor endure this neglect any longer. Forceful social agitation is the only path left for us to secure our legitimate demand- agitation is the only democratic path left, the only impactful way of bringing our demand in front of the government. We have decided that if no fair resolution is decided upon, despite our humble yet relentless demand for our constitutional right, then we will take to the streets in agitation. Therefore we, the LTVC, humbly appeal to all the Limbu and Tamang people, all the well-wishers of the communities, as well as the members of all the political parties of Sikkim, to kindly attend our upcoming rally and support us in solidarity in our rightful demand for our constitutional right.