Sikkim Chief Minister P.S. Tamang placed the demand for ST status before Amit Shah

Chief Minister P.S. A delegation from Sikkim led by. Tamang (Golay) met two Union ministers in New Delhi on Wednesday and raised their long-standing demand of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for 12 communities and reservation of assembly seats for Limbu and Tamang communities.

“The delegation led by the Chief Minister met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda. The Prime Minister underlined the importance of the demands mentioned and stressed their importance for Sikkim. He also submitted a memorandum to the Home Minister on behalf of the state government,” he told a source in the Sikkim government.

There has been a demand for giving ST status to some communities in Sikkim and Darjeeling hills of Bengal for a long time.

“Assembly elections will be held in Sikkim next year. The Tamang-led Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), which is in power, now understands well the importance of both the demands. Other parties will present their demands before the elections. That is why the Prime Minister has conveyed the demands to the Centre,” said a veteran politician from Sikkim.

There are 32 seats in Sikkim Assembly. In 2019, the SKM won 17 seats, while the Sikkim Democratic Front led by former chief minister Pawan Chamling won 15 constituencies.

An NGO, which filed the PIL, said in its petition that the population of Limbus and Tamang in Sikkim was 20.6 per cent in 2001 and increased to 33.8 per cent in 2011.

The NGO said the ST population in Bengal’s Darjeeling district was 12.69 percent in 2001 and 21.5 percent in 2021.

The delegation also included the Assembly Speaker, Sikkim MP Indra Hang Subba, three state ministers and the Chief Secretary.