Sikkimese feel betrayed as Article 371F violated: SDF chief Chamling

SDF supremo Pawan Kumar Chamling claimed that the Sikkimese people feel betrayed as Article 371F, which guarantees special provisions for Sikkim, was violated.

The former chief minister, in a telephonic interview with PTI, also alleged Sikkim had become a hotbed for political violence and sought President's rule to ensure a free and fair election in 2024.

According to Article 371F, only the descendants of Sikkim subjects (those who lived in the state before its merger with India) whose names were mentioned in the 1961 register are Sikkimese with rights to own land, get state government jobs. They were also exempted from paying income tax.

But now, the Financial Bill, 2023 redefines Sikkimese as any Indian citizen domiciled in Sikkim, extending to them the same benefits as that of the original inhabitants whose forefathers' names were in the 1961 register, Chamling said.

This violates Article 371F, which was the basis for the merger of Sikkim with India in 1975. People of Sikkim fee