Gangtok: The Sikkim Democratic Front party held a press conference on Friday at its party office in the state capital, where it raised concerns about the increasing crime rate in the state. They posed the question, “Do you feel safe in Sikkim now?” to highlight their apprehensions.
During the press conference held at the Sikkim Democratic Front party office in the state capital, spokespersons Rikzing Norbu Dorjee and Bandana Sharma expressed their concerns about the law and order situation in Sikkim. They claimed that criminals in the state have no fear of the law and are free to commit any crime they want.
The spokespersons cited a recent incident where a government vehicle was caught with drugs in Siliguri and questioned why the same severity of charges as in a case of attempted murder booked under the IPC section was not applied to the attackers who used a knife to attack Joint Action Council general secretary Keshav Sapkota on April 8. The attackers were only put behind bars for a day, and the following day, they were welcomed with much fervour. The spokespersons also alleged that such criminals were receiving political blessings.
They further stated that there have been instances where ministers have been involved in attacking citizens, and attacks on SDF party workers have been ignored. They demanded that the Sikkim Police define IPC section 307 and questioned why it is only applied after a person dies.
During the press conference, the Sikkim Democratic Front party referred to the crimes in the state as “historic crimes” that were tarnishing Sikkim’s reputation. Bandana Sharma of SDF claimed that there was more democracy in Sikkim during the SDF regime, and people were allowed to speak and protest.
Rikzing Norbu Dorjee identified corruption and resulting unemployment as the root cause of the rising crime rate in the state. He stated that despite the SKM government receiving over Rs. 52,000 crores in the state budget from the centre over the past few years, the unemployment ratio in the state has risen to over 20% from around 2% in 2019, with over 1.5 lakh people out of the entire 7 lakh population currently unemployed.
Dorjee further explained that inflation in the state has risen, leaving the unemployed with no purchasing power, forcing them to resort to crime. He cited recent violence during the filing of tenders for government works in West Sikkim as an example of unemployment, where a group of men attacked a woman who had come to file a tender. He stated that those caught with drugs are often compelled to make a living, but providing them with jobs and vehicles could prevent such criminal activities.
Dorjee also pointed out that some of the people involved in pelting stones in the state are degree holders, resorting to stone pelting because it pays better than working on an ad-hoc basis with the state government. He suggested that private jobs based on their profession should also be considered in addition to government jobs.
The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) spokespersons also raised the issue of alleged malpractices during the Sikkim Public Service Commission (SPSC) recruitment exam held on January 16. Rikzing Norbu Dorjee criticized the State government for not taking prompt action in this matter, stating that a committee was formed to investigate the alleged malpractices but its report has not been made public even after the government set a deadline of 21 days. He alleged that the recruitment exam came under scrutiny for alleged malpractices by applicants, and the questions were substandard, making the exam a meme. Moreover, the exam duty officers were not trained or authorized personnel, and there were no signal jammers.
The SDF spokesperson also stated that the reputation of the SPSC, which was of repute for conducting recruitment examinations, has now been compromised. He added that many candidates had grievances but feared being victimized or their families being transferred if they spoke up. The high-powered committee that was formed to investigate the alleged malpractices has submitted its report, which includes the grievances of the candidates, but the government has not made it public yet. The SDF spokesperson questioned the government’s intention and alleged that the investigation and outcome of the examination would not be fair and would favour nepotism over merit-selected candidates.
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The SDF spokesperson questioned the State government on the progress of various committees formed by them and their expected outcomes. They gave examples of several committees such as the Limboo Tamang seat reservation committee, the committee for bringing Karmapa to Sikkim, the committee for economic revival during the COVID-19 pandemic, the committee for granting tribal status to 11 communities, and the old pension scheme committee. They highlighted that the deadline for the old pension scheme committee had expired in February and questioned what had happened to all of these committees.
The SDF alleged that the ruling government was using these issues as a way to gain votes in the upcoming 2024 elections instead of focusing on resolving them.
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