Gurung lashes out at Opposition in Sikkim

Gangtok, Aug 27 (UNI) The Sikkim government has blamed the Opposition parties for indulging in litigation politics as desperate means for their political survival.

Media advisor to Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, B B Gurung told reporters here due to absence of any issue the political parties led by Congress had rushed to the Governor recently with twisted and distorted facts and urged him to exercise his special powers to bring the state under President's rule.

Mr Gurung said the opposition Congress led by Mr Narbahadur Bhandari allegedly filed a disproportionate assests case against Mr Chamling in the Supreme Court recently.

The Union and the state governments were also made party to the case.

He said the government and the Chief Minister are yet to receive the court notice.

''We do not want to shy away from the case and ready to face it in the court of law. The Law will take its own course and we are ready to go by the verdict,'' Mr Gurung said.

Earlier a number of cases were also filed against the Chief Minister and verdict of many of the cases went in favour of Mr Chamling, he said.

But rushing to the Governor and urging him to exercise his discretionary power had exposed the intention of the opposition parties to ''indulge in politics of litigation and to abuse the process of court for achieving their political objective'', he said.

Recently a delegation of four opposition political parties- Congress, BJP, CPI(M) and the Himali Rajya called on the Governor and urged him to intervene by exercising his special power.

Sikkim governor has special power enshrined in Article 371 f (g) of the constitution to bring the state under president's rule.

The oppsotiion members alleged Mr Chamling had threatened to eliminate the political leaders after the news of the admission of the disproportionate assests case filed in the Supreme Court reached the state.

The Chief Minister, however, refuted the allegation and said the opposition parties were distoring and misinterpreting his speech.

Mr Gurung said since the law and order situation in the state was alright and almost all central ministers including Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who visited the state, had praised the state, the opposition parties had no right to demand the governor to exercise his special powers.

Mr Gurung alleged the verdict of three cases pending in different courts of law against Mr Bhandari is expected to be delivered shortly. Mr Bhandari, he said, was deliberately creating the rows in a bid to divert the attention of the people from the possible adverse verdict, he said.

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