Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling promises to take opposition into confidence

GANGTOK: Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling today promised to take the opposition into confidence in the development of the state.

In the "march of prosperity" for Sikkim, Chamling stressed, he would not like to progress without the Opposition's support.

Gesturing to the Treasury bench in the Assembly, Chamling said, "whatever be the numbers here, I do not want to move ahead without you (the Opposition). I don't want to proceed on the basis of the mandate given to SDF party alone... I want to move ahead on the strength of consensus."

Highlighting that the MLAs have now graduated from being candidates to becoming "ambassadors of hope", Chamling assured that he was open to criticism and willing to learn - whether about world-class organic production in Sikkim or a well-run public distribution system has to be put in place.

"If we have your support, we can make Sikkim the best state. Think of the state for the first four years, the last year is enough for politics. The duty of all MLAs is to work for the state," he said while replying to the motion of thanks to the Governor's address.

Positive and constructive opposition, he said, will help achieve the missions set for the state to become the best in the country and went on to urge them to shoulder their responsibilities well and deliver responsibly on their duties in public interest.

He also invited the opposition MLAs to bring what they consider priority undertaking to him to be addressed in public interest. The elections, he pointed out, are over and now legislators will have to deliver for the public without differentiation.

He also urged the opposition MLAs to bring up issues whenever they see the government slacking.