Gangtok: Sikkim Democratic Front party president Pawan Chamling has promised that there would be no enmity, victimisation and vigilance department if elected to power in 2024 assembly polls.
The former Chief Minister made a slew of electoral promises on Thursday while addressing the SDF’s 31st Sampoorna Kranti Diwas programme at SDF Bhawan in Gangtok.
“In the SDF 2.0 government, there will be no ‘victimisation’ word in our dictionary. I will remove the vigilance department as we will not file any such cases. Our government will not resort to revenge politics and will be run on humanity and not on enmity,” said Chamling.
He also promised to regularise the jobs of all ‘One Family One Job’ employees, ad hoc, muster roll and temporary workers on the first day of forming the government if voted to power in 2024.
“I have run the government for 25 years. I urge the OFOJ, ad hoc, Asha and Aganwadi workers to have faith in me. We had regularised the NRHM doctors and SSA teachers. In the similar manner, we will regularise all the casual workers. We will pass this in our first cabinet meeting. I know where to get the budget, how to bring revenue and how to do sustainable development,” the former chief minister said.
The SDF president further promised that if elected to power the SDF government will increase the casual leave of government employees by 15 days. “We will also create separate cadres for police, Sikkim Armed Police and IRB so that it benefits the officers during promotion and other matters. We will restore the old pension scheme for the government employees. The labour wage of the state government is only Rs 9,000 per month, which is an injustice to the workers. Once we form the government, we will pay enhanced monthly salary along with arrears to the workers,” said Chamling.
On the Panchayati Raj Institution in Sikkim, the Namchi Singhithang legislator asserted, “The panchayats have been rendered ‘powerless’ by the SKM government. It was the SDF government which implemented the Panchayat Act in Sikkim and gave 50% reservation to women and decentralized powers to the rural local bodies. This government has virtually removed the Panchayati Raj institution and rendered it powerless. There are panchayats but there is no power has been given to them. We welcome the panchayats to join the ‘Save Sikkim’ crusade of the SDF.”
The former chief minister promised that the SDF government will restore the powers of the panchayats and annually allocate 70% of the state budget. “Without development and economic activities in villages, rural people will not prosper. We must increase the economic activities for the development of our villages,” he said.
On SDF’s 2019 election manifesto where it promised to provide Universal Basic Income and free education up to university level, Chamling said, “Had people voted our party to power in 2019, they would have been enjoying Universal Basic Income at present. Sikkim would have been the first state in Asia having Universal Basic Income wherein the government will directly give cash grants to every person. We had promised this in in 2019 poll manifesto and will continue to promise this in 2024.”
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Chamling thanked the people of ousting the SDF government in 2019 and said that it has realised its mistakes and also experienced the betrayal from the ‘opportunists’ within the party.
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