Shri Pawan Chamling condemns attack on innocent people demanding justice for Padam Gurung on 7 August in Namchi. He said that it is a sign of the state government feeling insecure. The government thinks that all who question the government are their enemies
“Q. What would you like to say about the tear gas attack on the people who were staging a peace rally in Namchi on 7 August, 2023 in a demand for justice for Padam Gurung?
Ans. There is no worse case of an insecure government than the present one in Sikkim. This government is so insecure, scared and clueless that all it sees around it is the enemy. This insecure Chief Minister is so paranoid that he thinks that people who are not singing praises to him are his enemies. He thinks: The people demanding the status quo on the definition of the term Sikkimese are his enemies. The people demanding justice for Padam Gurung are his enemies. The students seeking an appointment with the Education Minister are enemies, Ad hoc teachers requesting the extension of their jobs during the Covid pandemic are his enemies. The students asking for fulfilment of vacant teaching positions are his enemies. The youth questioning the increasing unemployment rate are his enemies. The drivers asking for better road conditions are his enemies. The people questioning the increasing inflation rate are his enemies. Vocal citizens questioning the wholesale auctioning of Sikkimese assets are his enemies. The general public questioning his links with businesspeople from outside are his enemies. People asking about the government’s role in the multicore money laundering in MCX are his enemies. It is a case of ‘a guilty mind is always suspicious’. Our Nepali saying, “chorko khutta kaat bhanda khutta tanne” aptly describes the action of this government.
In the last four years, the SKM government has kept the Sikkim police busy, NOT in the task of public security but just the opposite. What a wastage of such a nationally acclaimed police force! This is the police force that couldn’t save Mr. Keshav Sapkota from the brutal attacks of the
SKM goons. This is the same police that mutely watched goons vandalizing SDF offices across Sikkim as well as my residence. This is the same police that mutely watched many incidences of Sikkimese sons and daughters being attacked and assaulted. This is the same police that refused to take FIRs on many such cases.
Sikkim is outraged over the complete negligence shown by the government of Sikkim in the Padam Gurung death case. All that the people want is an acceptable clarification of how an 18 inch drain can wash away a young man in the prime of health to meet an untimely death. The bereaved family is losing confidence in the government. They are saying that the police have been inclined to discredit every piece of evidence they are providing to the investigating authorities.
What was the need for the Sikkim police to obstruct the march of people demanding justice? As if obstructing the rally was not undemocratic enough, the police went on to use tear gas to disperse the people. Innocent people, including women and children were attacked causing serious public apprehension.
On the one hand, this misgovernance is making Sikkim more and more undemocratic and unliveable. On the other hand, when victimized people demand justice, the government uses all kinds of force, the sometimes goons and other times police, to suppress the voice of the people. The Chief Minister uses his public platform to openly threaten the beleaguered people. This what Sikkim has become today.
The SDF government is the voice, strength and hope of the people of Sikkim. We are taking serious note of these disturbing developments since the inception of the SKM government. We are troubled and concerned about how Sikkim is gradually turning into an autocratic state. We will not remain a mute spectator. We will keep standing for the justice, peace, security and prosperity of the people of Sikkim, come what may. We condemn the atrocity committed against innocent people in Namchi on 7 August, 2023. We will do everything possible to secure justice for Padam Gurung and the hundreds of other Sikkimese who have been wronged by this cruel regime.”
Judy Rai
General Secretary, Press & Publicity Affairs
SDF
13.08.2023