Journalism of Courage
SIKKIM CHIEF Minister Prem Singh Tamang has urged the Election Commission (EC) to decide his request for reducing the period of his disqualification before September 30.
Tamang met Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra on Wednesday to seek early disposal of his plea.
Tamang, who was appointed on May 27, needs to get elected to the legislative assembly within six months of his appointment. However, he is barred from contesting polls on account of being convicted of corruption. If the EC refuses to lift the ban on Tamang, he will have to resign from the post.
As first reported by The Indian Express on July 29, Tamang had approached the Commission to waive the remaining period of his disqualification under Section 11 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. On Wednesday, he reiterated the request and urged the Commission to decide the matter before September 30 so that he can contest polls before the six-month deadline ends.
Sikkim went to polls on April 11, simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections, in which Tamang’s party, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), defeated the the Sikkim Democratic Front, which had ruled the state for five consecutive terms. SKM is an ally of the BJP and part of the NDA at the Centre.
There have been precedents of the EC exercising is powers under Section 11 to remove or reduce disqualification of a convicted person. Last year, the poll panel had informed the Supreme Court, in an affidavit, that in 1977 it had reduced the period of disqualification of two Uttar Pradesh MLAs namely Shyam Narain Tiwari and Mitra Sen Yadav. They were convicted of criminal offences.
Tamang served a year in prison between 2017 and 2018 after he was found guilty of misappropriating government funds in a cow distribution scheme while he was the minister of animal husbandry in the 1990s.
He was released on August 10, 2018. Under the Representation of People Act, 1951, those convicted and imprisoned under the Prevention of Corruption Act are disqualified from contesting elections during the period of incarceration and until six years after release.
According to EC officials, the Chief Minister, during Wednesday’s meeting, made the case that he was framed by his political rival and former Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling. Tamang is learned to have also said that if he cannot retain his chief ministership, horse-trading will ensue.
