oppn parties Sikkim: Tamang Saved By A Controversial Ruling From The Watchdog

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  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
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  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
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  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
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Sikkim: Tamang Saved By A Controversial Ruling From The Watchdog

By Sunil Garodia

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

Consider the scenario. A by-election is coming up in Sikkim. The unelected chief minister, who was appointed to the position in blatant disregard of the Supreme Court’s order in the Jayalalitha case, has to be elected to the legislature by November 23. Fortunately, the election is to be held on October 21. But there is a problem. The chief minister has been disqualified from contesting elections for 6 years due to his conviction in a corruption case earlier. So does the chief minister leave his position like an ethical man? No. If he was ethical, would he have become the chief minister in the first place?

Then what is the solution? In comes the ‘friendly’ Election Commission (EC). It reduces the period of disqualification from 6 years to just one year and one month, a period that has already elapsed since he was released from jail on August 10, 2018. There is no precedent for such a decision. It remains a mystery how the EC arrived at the figure of one year and one month. Yes, the EC does have discretionary powers in this regard, but the timing of the decision and the fact that it is unprecedented makes it dubious and controversial.

Prem Singh Tamang’s appointment itself was arguably illegal if one goes strictly by the Supreme Court’s judgment in Jayalalitha’s case. The court had then ruled that if “the Governor does appoint as Chief Minister a person who is not qualified to be a member of the legislature or who is disqualified to be such, the appointment is contrary to the provisions of Article 164 of the Constitution, as we have interpreted it, and the authority of the appointee to hold the appointment can be challenged in quo warranto proceedings. That the Governor has made the appointment does not give the appointee any higher right to hold the appointment. If the appointment is contrary to constitutional provisions it will be struck down.” Although the case filed against his appointment has still not been decided, given the similarities with the Jayalalitha case, it will in all probability be decided against him.

But in the meantime, courtesy the EC, Tamang has already filed his nomination and will obviously win the bypoll and become a ‘legal’ chief minister. The pending case would then become infructuous. But what has happened is neither morally correct nor in support of clean politics. That a person who was convicted and jailed for corruption has been shown such leniency sets a dangerous precedent. If the present law states that the ban should be for 6 years, no leniency should have been shown to Tamang just because the law was different when he committed the crime. The law as applicable on the day he was released from jail should have been considered. The EC should not have reduced the period of disqualification. The Centre is fighting corruption by dismissing corrupt government officers. But if the BJP supports such politicians, the fight against corruption will have no meaning. After all, how will corrupt chief ministers clean corrupt bureaucracies?

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