Gangtok: Dzongu constituency MLA Pintso Namgyal Lepcha slammed former Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling for taking “10 former Sikkim Democratic Front legislators to the Bharatiya Janata Party” on August 13, 2019.
The statement from the BJP MLA came during the ongoing budget session of the Assembly and as a rebuttal to Chamling’s claim of being “left as the lone MLA of the SDF” during the Financial business session of the Assembly.
Chamling had claimed to have been left alone in the opposition bench despite securing 15 Assembly seats in the 2019 elections. He claimed, “Two legislators joined the SKM while the others joined BJP, leaving me alone as SDF MLA.”
In his rebuttal to the former Chief Minister, the first-time legislator from Dzongu stated, “It was the former Chief Minister who took us to Delhi and left us there. On August 13, 2019, it was he who took us to the BJP. We have evidence of his joining report to the BJP along with us. Now, people come and tell us that we sold ourselves; rather, we were sold by Chamling. He was our leader then.”
The 10 MLAs from SDF who defected to BJP include Pintso Namgyal Lepcha from Dzongu constituency, KS Lepcha from Rinchenpong, Tashi Thendup Bhutia from Barfung, Farwanti Tamang from Melli, Raj Kumari Thapa from Rangang-Yangang, KB Rai from Chujachen, NK Subba from Maneybong-Dentam, Ugen T. Gyatso from Tumin Lingee, DT Lepcha from Gnathang-Machong, and current BJP Sikkim President DR Thapa from Upper Burtuk constituency.
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Making a comparison between Chamling and former Chief Minister late Nar Bahadur Bhandari, Lepcha stated, “In the past, Bhandari Sahab used to often tell about how he taught Chamling everything in politics. Currently, Chamling Sahab is doing something similar, telling everyone how he brought Chief Minister Prem Singh Golay into politics. This trend has to stop.”
Furthermore, the legislator asserted, “The 10 MLAs have been working well under BJP and a lot of public work is happening in our constituencies.”
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