SNPP calls for a 12-hour strike on Republic day

Opposition Sikkim Nationalist Peoples Party has called for a 12-hour strike in the state on Republic day to protest against the dilution of Article 371(F) of Constitution which guarantees the special rights of its people.

Opposition Sikkim Nationalist Peoples Party (SNNP) has called for a 12-hour strike in the state on Republic day to protest against the dilution of Article 371(F) of Constitution which guarantees the special rights of its people.

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SNPP president Biraj Adhikari told PTI on Friday its workers and those of other opposition parties will carry black flags in one hand and the national tricolour in the other as an expression of their protest.

Party workers are campaigning across the state to enlist the support of the people and the traders and businessmen, he said adding no vehicular traffic will be allowed to ply during the shut down.

He claimed that 'anti-national' sentiments have seeped in in a section of the society in Sikkim due to the dilution of the constitutional provisions protecting the rights of the indigenous people.

As per the official records the Centre and the state governments have breached the enactments protecting the rights of the Sikkimese people at least 184 times since 1975, he alleged.

SNPP has also demanded the restoration of the associate state status for Sikkim as it felt that the aspirations of the local people cannot be fulfilled under the present system if the provisions of Article 371(F) were violated.