Interview | 'No Power Can Finish Sikkim Democratic Front': Ex-CM Pawan Kumar Chamling

New Delhi: Having held the position of the chief minister of Sikkim for five consecutive terms, from 1994 to 2019, Pawan Kumar Chamling holds the record of being India’s longest serving chief minister.

However, in the last assembly polls, his party, Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), lost to the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) by two seats. The present chief minister, Prem Singh Tamang ‘Golay’, was a former SDF MLA who fell out with Chamling some years ago, which led to a bitter, neck-and-neck fight in the 2019 assembly polls.

Despite giving a close fight and grabbing 15 seats, SDF fell short of touching the simple majority. But, Chamling today is the lone SDF MLA in the Sikkim assembly, thanks to the prevailing modus operandi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to snip legislators from other parties overnight to increase its strength in the house. From zilch to 10 in Sikkim. The rest of the two SDF MLAs switched sides to SKM.

In a freewheeling interview, Chamling, in political exile for over a year now, takes up questions from The Wire, not only on SDF’s future but also his political trajectory and what he would call his government’s milestones in the last 25 years. Below are excerpts from the interview.

You led a very busy public life for 25 years. How are you spending your time now?

Yes, for 30 days in a month, for 25 years in a row, I led the same busy routine. I would leave home at 8 am and work till 11 pm. There were times when I met people till 3 am. If there was ever a record about one-on-one visits, I would have broken that record. I met tens of thousands of people one-on-one ceaselessly. I met 100 persons on an average in a day.  There were times when I met two thousand people in a single day on a one-on-one basis.

I took no holiday from work. No Sunday. No vacation. Some days, just by habit, I would pick my bag and walk towards the car, only to be told by the personal security officer that it was a state holiday and the secretariat was closed that day. Work became my obsession. That routine changed in May 2019.

You may know that I have written five books of Nepali poems under the name of Pawan Chamling Kiran. I have also authored five books on political, social and literary subjects. There are 10 volumes of my speech collection. I also wrote lyrics for Nepali films. There are 20 music albums and 50 music videos of my song collections. These days, I have got some time to indulge in writing. Who knows, I may come up with another collection of my poems.

It has been over a year since SKM has come to power in Sikkim. Still, I want to ask, do you think the anti-incumbency of a five-term government made it easy for SKM to grab power from your party?

Any government seeking re-election faces anti-incumbency that helps the opposition. SKM too benefitted from it. But I think there were some other factors also. Certain external forces monetarily helped SKM to grab power; it included mainstream Indian forces and also outside India forces. Money was used to win votes. Look at the vote share of SDF. I never thought I would lose the elections. Many SDF voters were not allowed to go to the booth. Apart from external forces, there were some local anti-democratic forces too that helped SKM win the election.

If you look back at the five consecutive terms of SDF rule with you at the helm of affairs in Sikkim, what would you count as its achievements?

Well, there are many. I can recall some here. The then kingdom of Sikkim merged with India on April 26, 1975. However, the people of Sikkim remained emotionally detached from India. In fact, a de-merger was the burning political issue in Sikkim. One of the first things my government campaigned for was the emotional integration with India. I spearheaded the campaign.  People needed leaders who could help them build confidence as full-fledged Indian citizens. The response was tremendously encouraging. The result is there for everyone to see.

Moreover, when we formed the government in Sikkim in December 1994, there was unrest everywhere. Sikkim is surrounded by three international borders with China, Bhutan and Nepal respectively. Nepal was in deep political turmoil. There was a fear of agitators intruding into Sikkim for safety. Then there was the ongoing Gorkhaland agitation in Darjeeling. The national highway No 10, the only lifeline for Sikkim, was repeatedly blocked during the strikes. Sometimes, the bandh went on for over two months, causing huge public inconvenience to travel to the rest of India, triggering insecurity besides causing economic loss to Sikkim.

Although Sikkim was surrounded by such political upheaval in the neighbouring areas, we developed as an ‘oasis of peace’, ensuring prosperity, security and tranquility in our state.

The SDF government has not received credit for such a significant achievement. I am hopeful that history will never forget these feats of our governance. Furthermore, at that time, Sikkim was one of the least known states of India. So much so that many Indians in other parts of the country thought Sikkim was a separate country. However, as Sikkim developed and became more and more prosperous, it is now a well-known state, which Indians are proud to call their own.

Your government also turned Sikkim into a fully organic state.

We turned Sikkim not just into the only Indian state to turn fully organic but also stood as a rare example across the world for which it bagged the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Future Policy Gold Award in 2018. It is considered the Oscar for best policies. We beat 51 other nominations from across the globe. On that occasion, I had said that organic farming is like practicing non-violent and environment-friendly agriculture. I was confronted by the opposition parties and the chemical fertiliser sector for taking such a decision, but I continued with a strong political commitment towards it and made Sikkim a fully organic state.

The central government gives an annual subsidy on chemical fertilisers to the states. Sikkim decided to forgo it; in the last two decades, the state may have lost Rs 500-1,000 crores; it was a hard financial decision for a small state but I took it in favour of a better food system for the people of Sikkim. I don’t regret it. Today, several states are trying to emulate Sikkim. We have proven to the world that organic farming is a possibility.

Also, it is during my term that the literacy rate in Sikkim shot up to over 96.72%. We had launched the Total Literacy Mission in 2015. Sikkim saw a massive industrialisation under our governance. The poverty reduction in Sikkim from 41% in 1994 to 8% in 2012 was a massive achievement. Sikkim was on the verge of becoming a kutcha house free state. Sikkim is a state where all basic minimum needs of people have been fulfilled by governmental intervention.

It is in Sikkim that you will find one of the highest road densities. Almost every village has a concrete road. I had also made the basic health check-up free for every Sikkimese. I had set up separate guest houses in metros like Kolkata and Delhi with nurses, etc., for patients from Sikkim to find easy accommodation for better treatment. My government provided free education to everyone up to the college level. I also worked towards ensuring that women get education in my state. Knowledge has no gender and everyone has the right to acquire it.

Life expectancy in Sikkim also increased during your term.

Yes. During my tenure, the life expectancy in Sikkim rose from 62 years to 73.

We had also done exemplary work in environmental conservation. I was adjudged the Greenest Chief Minister of India by One World in 2017. My government introduced many eco-innovations such as Ten Minutes to Earth, a ceremonial friendship between individuals and trees, Heritage Tree, Tree Adoption, Smriti Ban, etc. Sikkim under the SDF government became the only state to have recorded a 4% increase in forest cover.

My party had promised to bring guaranteed minimum income too if elected to power in 2019. The idea was to share the state’s earnings with each Sikkimese. That dream has remained.

Also read: Watch | Sadak Se Sansad: Is the Longest Serving CM in India Staring at Defeat?

SDF was part of the BJP’s regional alliance, the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), and also the national alliance, NDA. Now that SKM, the party that overthrown you, is part of NEDA, what is the status of your party? Is SDF still part of NEDA?

Yes, the NEDA membership is there; so we are still part of NEDA and we do get invited to NEDA meetings. However, since the SKM won the elections, we have not been invited to any NDA meeting. I would also like to add that SDF is still a part of NDA. Our lone MP at the Rajya Sabha follows the whip of the BJP.

If you look at some NEDA partners, it is not difficult to see how BJP first befriended those local regional parties and then backstabbed them to grab power in that state or autonomous council with the help of a new regional party opposed to their earlier partners. We saw it playing out in Nagaland; BJP dropped its oldest ally in the Northeast, NPF, to forge an alliance with NDPP. In Assam, the Asom Gana Parishad, which ruled the state twice, today has no future without the BJP. It did the same with Bodo People’s Front in the recent council elections. Your party has been set aside too for a new partner. Do you want to comment on it?

Well, BJP is a national party, which is in power at the Centre too and we are small fries. So, beyond a point, we don’t have much to say when such a thing happens.

As NEDA partner in 2017, your government brought a law to prohibit cow slaughter, which some political observers then looked at as a move to please the BJP/RSS. What do you have to say to that?

Yes, Sikkim became the first state in the Northeast to ban cow slaughter. We passed the Bill in the assembly in August 2017. See, some people may look at protecting the cow because of their belief, as Gaumata. But there are some others in my state who are beef eaters. I feel they too need to protect the cow because of its short supply in our state and they need it for their organic farming. Sikkim is an organic state. We also brought in provisions under that law to protect the aged and unproductive cows in gaushalas (shelters). Two gaushalas were set up by my government for that purpose.

Aside from banning cow slaughter, I also banned wildlife killing, tree felling, and grazing in the forest areas, all done keeping the fragile environment of Sikkim in mind. My government had clamped a ban on crackers too.

Though the BJP didn’t win a single seat in the Sikkim assembly polls in 2019, it took away 10 MLAs from your party. It is now the main opposition in the state, if you can call it so since it is an ally of the ruling SKM. Two others from SDF moved over to SKM too; you are now the lone MLA of your party in the assembly. Any comment on how the BJP, a close ally of your party till a while ago, acted?

Well, I fully understand why the SDF MLAs moved to other parties. What more can I say?

If we look at the trajectory of politics in Sikkim, you came out of the shadow of Nar Bahadur Bhandari to end his rule. That was also more or less the end of Bhandari’s party, Sikkim Sangram Parishad. Now, we see Golay coming out of the shadow of SDF to form SKM and take over power from you. Can we now say that SDF will also walk into the political sunset and with it you too?

Let me correct you here. The late Shri N. B. Bhandari did not introduce me to politics as this question suggests. I was in politics right from 1975 as a youth. I was fully connected with the grassroots as an independent youth leader much before the Sikkim Sangram Parishad came into existence. However, Shri P. S. Tamang Golay debuted in politics under my leadership in the SDF. I introduced him to Sikkim politics. The two stories do not have any similarities.

As far as walking into the political sunset is concerned, there are two ways. Either the SDF party has to voluntarily retire or people must fully reject us. Otherwise, no power on earth can finish SDF and its leadership. Please remember, even in the last assembly election, the SDF got more of the popular vote.

SKM had the technical edge by virtue of winning 17 seats when the halfway mark is 16. The SDF won 15, one short of the majority. Also, according to a local survey, 60% of people chose me as their next chief minister and only 30% chose Golay.

It is because of this existing public support that SDF was not allowed a fair play during the last by-elections by SKM. I had ruled for 25 years; I can easily walk into the political sunset; I would have had done so had there been no public support towards SDF in the assembly polls. Tell me, what is the achievement of the SKM government in the first year? That is why I strongly believe that SDF is very much alive.

Also read: How Modi Government Brought the Northeast Into Its Fold

So you are still in active politics?

Yes. My biggest regret about my long political career is that that I was denied the opportunity to take my mission to a logical end. Sikkim achieved unprecedented feats. Our governance was hailed nationally and even globally. We became one of the best north-eastern states. I needed some time to give finishing touches to the work of development I had taken up in Sikkim. I wanted to hand over Sikkim to the people in its best form and retire with a big smile of contentment. But people decided otherwise. Let me add here, politics is not about running the government or becoming a minister or a chief minister. People may not have me as the chief minister but I can still be of service to them as a senior politician. However, if people do not want my service anymore, I will be happy to retire.

Also, how is it to be a lone MLA of SDF in the assembly and in the state in general, a party which till a year ago was all in all in Sikkim?

Well, there is a saying that one or many, a lion is a lion anyway. So, it is okay. But the trouble is in growing extreme intolerance towards the existence of an opposition in the state. In a democracy, there is a ruling party and there is the opposition. A political leader opposed to the ruling dispensation is not an enemy but a political opponent. There is nothing personal there. But the SKM is treating me like an enemy. I am not allowed to speak in the assembly, ask any question. I might have been in power for long but today, being in opposition, I would like to move around like any common person in the state but that is not allowed either. I am verbally abused by SKM supporters on the streets as part of a strategy; I was not allowed to take part in the recent Poklok Kamrang by-elections. They pelted stones at my car, and I was attacked by its supporters. That is the level of politics. Personal safety becomes an issue even for a senior politician like me. I think some politicians retire early in this part of the world also perhaps because of the insecurity they face.

During my time, a small-time local opposition party worker had performed a death ceremony (Shraddh) of mine in Gangtok. I instructed the police officers not to act against him. But things are not the same anymore in Sikkim. Today, I fear for my life. I am not sure that an attempt would not be made on my life in Sikkim during the SKM rule. I urge the Central government to particularly look into it.

There is a rumour doing rounds in some corridors about the Centre offering you a governor role. Is it true?

Well, I have no clue about it. I don’t know who is spreading this rumour and where is the source for that. But like before, I am always ready to do anything asked of me to serve my country.