Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang filed his nomination papers for the upcoming bypolls in the state on Monday. He is set to contest from the Poklok-Kamrang assembly seat.
PS Tamang became the Chief Minister of Sikkim in the recent elections. The Chief Minister was convicted in a corruption case. He, therefore, completed his one-year sentence on August 10, 2018. Now, the Election Commission of India has reduced the Chief Minister’s disqualification period from six years to just one year.
Tamang was found guilty in 2016 of misappropriating government funds in a cow distribution scheme. The verdict was then upheld by the state high court as well as the Supreme Court.
This has enabled PS Tamang to retain his office if he gets elected to power again. However, the decision of ECI has not gone down well with the opposition parties. Congress party slammed the decision and questioned the intention of the election commission.
Speaking to the media, All India Congress Committee spokesperson Abishek Singhvi said that the Centre is shielding him from the law. He alleged that it was a clear message to the nation that whosoever will sing praises of the Centre will be immunized from the law. He said, “I wonder how many people in the country are fortunate enough to get this benevolence (Tamang’s relief from EC). This largesse, this generosity of a generous EC and of a super generous government of India…I would suggest all such people who want this generosity, should start chanting a different mantra.”
Congress leader also compared PS Tamang’s case with that of Lalu Prasad Yadav.