ST & SC candidates contest from OBC reserved seats while the other candidate possess dual voter identity”
GANGTOK, October 05: The opposition parties – Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC), State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Communist Party of India (M) and Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad (SHRP) have urged the State Election Commission to disqualify three names from contesting the Panchayat polls.
In a letter sent to the Secretary, SEC, the parties have stated that the three candidates are not qualified to contest the elections since their names does not appear qualified in the category in which they have filed their nominations. “It is the voter list that decides to which category he/she belongs and nothing else. Even the Serial No of the voter list is counted as an authentic proof,” the letter reads.
According to the letter, which the opposition challenges it as a legal notice (if not considered sympathetically) mentions that Sumita Subba, who is contesting from Timburboong Block being categorised into Scheduled Tribe is contesting for OBC reserved seat. At the same time, Padma Devi Shanker contesting from 44 Tharpu, Ward No 5 – Gairigoan affiliated to Scheduled Caste is contesting for OBC reserved seats.
In another disqualification pinpointed by the opposition parties, Nawal Prasad Dhital, son of Padma Lal Dhital contesting from Timburbung Gram Panchayat has a dual voter identity, one in Timburbung and the other in Darjeeling Assembly Constituency of West Bengal. His name in the WB voters list appears as Ram Prasad Sharma son of Padam Lal Sharma against Sl No 1037.
The parties have also demanded for consideration of all nominations accepted by the Returning officer till October 1 “as valid from all legal point of view” further stating that no nominations should be rejected just because the candidate/candidates or his/her/their proposer/proposers could not reach the office of the returning Officer during scrutiny.
Stating that the opposition candidate/candidates or his/her/their proposer/proposers could not reach for scrutiny due to threat to their security/life, the party maintains that the nominations were rejected not only in Soreng Sub-Division but by many Returning Officers of all Districts and Sub-Divisions.
The letter further alleges that the Returning Officers have followed such steps irrespective of the fact that the “Handbook for election officers for Panchayat elections” issued by the SEC, Sikkim at Page 29 under Ground which are insufficient for rejecting nomination paper at 9.2 states “a nomination paper should not be rejected for the reasons that none of the persons, referred to in Rule 27 was present at the time of scrutiny of nomination; it should be accepted or rejected on merit, taking all the available material into account.”
GANGTOK, October 05: The opposition parties – Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC), State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Communist Party of India (M) and Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad (SHRP) have urged the State Election Commission to disqualify three names from contesting the Panchayat polls.
In a letter sent to the Secretary, SEC, the parties have stated that the three candidates are not qualified to contest the elections since their names does not appear qualified in the category in which they have filed their nominations. “It is the voter list that decides to which category he/she belongs and nothing else. Even the Serial No of the voter list is counted as an authentic proof,” the letter reads.
According to the letter, which the opposition challenges it as a legal notice (if not considered sympathetically) mentions that Sumita Subba, who is contesting from Timburboong Block being categorised into Scheduled Tribe is contesting for OBC reserved seat. At the same time, Padma Devi Shanker contesting from 44 Tharpu, Ward No 5 – Gairigoan affiliated to Scheduled Caste is contesting for OBC reserved seats.
In another disqualification pinpointed by the opposition parties, Nawal Prasad Dhital, son of Padma Lal Dhital contesting from Timburbung Gram Panchayat has a dual voter identity, one in Timburbung and the other in Darjeeling Assembly Constituency of West Bengal. His name in the WB voters list appears as Ram Prasad Sharma son of Padam Lal Sharma against Sl No 1037.
The parties have also demanded for consideration of all nominations accepted by the Returning officer till October 1 “as valid from all legal point of view” further stating that no nominations should be rejected just because the candidate/candidates or his/her/their proposer/proposers could not reach the office of the returning Officer during scrutiny.
Stating that the opposition candidate/candidates or his/her/their proposer/proposers could not reach for scrutiny due to threat to their security/life, the party maintains that the nominations were rejected not only in Soreng Sub-Division but by many Returning Officers of all Districts and Sub-Divisions.
The letter further alleges that the Returning Officers have followed such steps irrespective of the fact that the “Handbook for election officers for Panchayat elections” issued by the SEC, Sikkim at Page 29 under Ground which are insufficient for rejecting nomination paper at 9.2 states “a nomination paper should not be rejected for the reasons that none of the persons, referred to in Rule 27 was present at the time of scrutiny of nomination; it should be accepted or rejected on merit, taking all the available material into account.”
