THE growing unity and assertiveness among opposition parties in Sikkim has been widely welcomed by the people, who fear that further domination and continuance of one-party-rule in the state would gradually lead to dilution of their freedom and democratic rights.
Recently, the Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad, led by its president, AD Subba, took out a rally at Namchi, south district headquarters, perceived to be the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front’s bastion. It is also the home town of chief minister Pawan Chamling. Though only about a 1,000 Parishad activists participated, the fact that the party dared to take on the SDF on its own turf reflects the growing assertiveness of opposition parties. “It takes a lot of guts and sacrifice to come out openly against Chamling and that, too, in Namchi,” said a villager in Yangang, south Sikkim. With a view to putting more pressure on the authorities to act against Chamling’s alleged corrupt practices, five opposition parties last month threatened to seek governor V Rama Rao’s resignation if he failed to take appropriate action against the chief minister “within 72 hours”. They submitted a memorandum highlighting the need to act against Chamling on corruption charges leveled against him by state Congress leaders. The five parties — the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee, state Bharatiya Janata Party, CPI(M), Sikkim Gorkha Prajatantrik Party and the Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad — during their meeting held in the capital on 24 April, threatened to take the issue to New Delhi and seek the governor’s removal if he failed to order a CBI investigation into the alleged corrupt practices of the chief minister. But despite these threats, Chamling remains firmly in the saddle. Even the alleged simmering discontent within the ruling party legislators is no threat to the chief minister, who completes a third consecutive term in office in May 2009. Observers feel that with 31 of the 32 legislators belonging to the ruling party, the best the opposition can do is to make a little noise from time to time through “memoranda politics”, “press statements” and court cases. Many credible and capable opposition leaders are either disillusioned with the way things are and have quit politics or have chosen to remain silent at the moment. The likely formation of a “third front” by some of these leaders is yet to materialise. “As long as responsible and capable people keep away from politics there is not much we can do to check the excesses of the government,” admits state CPI (M) leader Anjan Upadhaya. While most opposition leaders are unknown faces in state politics, the only person who is expected to hold the opposition together and lead it is former chief minister and SPCC president Nar Bahadur Bhandari. But he, too, suffers from inherent liabilities. Though recently acquitted in one corruption case, he still has to come clean in two others. A verdict in one of these cases is likely to be pronounced by the Special Judge on 26 May. If the verdict goes against him, Chamling will surely take full advantage of the situation and use all means to discredit Bhandari in a bid to unseat him from the presidentship of the state unit of the Congress. Already a section of the Congress leadership has been influenced by money power and is gunning for Bhandari. If he is convicted, the pro-Chamling elements within the Congress are bound to revive the demand for Bhandari’s removal. Meanwhile, Bhandari is still the rallying point for the opposition and perhaps the only visible alternative to Chamling. Said one prominent Gangtok businessman, “Bhandari is the only acceptable and recognisable face among opposition leaders in Sikkim. However, there is apprehension that if he succeeds Chamling he may be too vindictive and dominating as in the past.” Chamling himself faces an acid test when the SPCC petition against him on a alleged disproportionate assets case comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court soon. The SPCC wants the apex court to order a CBI probe against Chamling. If this takes place, the opposition has a major issue to beat Chamling. The case came up for hearing in the Supreme Court on 14 May and the next date for hearing is in August. While the Congress maintains that the case has already been “registered and admitted” and is fixed for “final hearing” in August, the SDF says the Congress petition is still pending before the court for admission for trial procedure to begin and has urged the public not be mislead by “false propaganda”. It is fairly safe to say that though the apex court has not yet ordered an independent probe into charges of corruption against the chief minister, a preliminary hearing on the merit of the case is in the process. As of now, the political careers of both Chamling and Bhandari hang on not so much as what games politicians play but on what the courts decide on their alleged corrupt practices.
(Jigme Kazi, the famed journalist and author is from Gangtok and formerly The Statesman’s correspondent in Sikkim.This article has appeared in the North East Page of TheStatesman)
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