10 SDF MLAs join BJP, Sikkim party in wait and watch mode
New Delhi/Gangtok, Aug 13: As many as 10 MLAs of the Sikkim Democratic Front joined the BJP on Tuesday, propelling the saffron party to the status of the main opposition in a state where it had not won a single seat in the recent assembly polls.
In Gangtok, the SDF leadership said it would prefer to wait and watch now as the situation is "complex", while the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) refrained from commenting on the development.
The MLAs met BJP working president J P Nadda and joined the party in the presence of its general secretary Ram Madhav, who is in charge of the party's affairs in the north east.
Madhav told reporters that the SDF had a strength of 13 MLAs and its legislature party decided to merge with the BJP.
The BJP is running government as the main party or in alliance with regional parties in all the northeastern states except Sikkim and this development has pushed the party closer to power there as well.
Two-thirds or more numbers of the MLAs of a party can join another party without violating the anti-defection law.
The SDF headed by Pawan Kumar Chamling ruled the state for over 25 years, making him the longest-serving chief minister of the country but he lost power in the recent polls.
The party won 15 seats while the SKM won 17 in the 32 -member assembly. Since two of the SDF MLAs had won from two seats, they resigned from one seat each, reducing the party's strength to 13 in the assembly.
"We want to wait and watch the situation now. The issue is complex. We can neither welcome it, nor condemn it outrightly without giving consideration to the circumstances in which this development has taken place," senior SDF leaders P D Rai and K T Gyaltsen told a press conference at Gangtok.
They, however, did not elaborate on why the issue is complex.
The two added that the party will remain alive under Chamling's leadership and continue to serve the people of Sikkim.
The SDF was a saffron ally earlier but now the ruling SKM has replaced it as a member of the BJP-headed North East Democratic Alliance.
The switching sides of the SDF MLAs may alter the relationship between the SKM and the BJP. Chief Minister and SKM president Prem Singh Tamang aka Golay has visited New Delhi on several occasions to strengthen friendship with the BJP top brass.
The MLAs who joined the BJP include Dorjee Tshering Lepcha, who served as a minister in the Chamling government for three times and is a five-term MLA, and three-term MLA Ugen Gyatso.
Lepcha said they were impressed with the "look east" of the Narendra Modi government, as he highlighted that his state is bounded by China, Bhutam and Nepal.
This is the first time that MLAs of a regional party in Sikkim has joined a national party "en bloc", he said.
"We want lotus to bloom in Sikkim," he said, referring to the BJP's election symbol.
Madhav said the BJP will play the role of a constructive opposition in the state.
The BJP's immediate challenge in the state will be the byelections to three seats.
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Man chased, brutally stabbed inside public toilet in northwest Delhi; one arrested; juvenile held
New Delhi (PTI): An alleged road rage incident took a fatal turn when a 27-year-old factory worker was chased down by assailants and stabbed multiple times inside a public toilet in northwest Delhi's Ashok Vihar area, police said on Thursday.
According to police, the incident took place on Wednesday night, when witnesses saw the victim, Santosh Kumar, running into a public toilet in a desperate bid to save his life, with his attackers hot on his heels.
"A PCR call was received at 6:23 pm on April 8 regarding a man being stabbed inside the compound of a Sulabh Sauchalaya located at the fish market in Wazirpur Industrial Area," a senior police officer said.
A police team rushed to the spot and found the victim lying in a pool of blood inside the toilet premises. The victim, originally from Nepal, was residing in Macchi Market area, the official said.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that the incident stemmed from an altercation between the victim and a motorcycle rider. The verbal spat soon escalated into a physical scuffle, during which the accused, along with an associate, allegedly attacked Santosh with a knife.
Police sources said in a desperate attempt to save himself, the injured victim ran towards the nearby public toilet and tried to latch the door from inside. Eyewitness accounts suggest he tried to take refuge inside the public toilet and shut the door to prevent his attackers from entering. However, he was chased down, overpowered, and stabbed multiple times.
Santosh collapsed on the spot, where he later succumbed to his injuries, police said.
A case under sections 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (common intentions) was registered at Ashok Vihar police station and an investigation was taken up.
During the probe, police arrested one accused identified as Tanish (19), a resident of CSA Colony in Macchi Market area, and apprehended a juvenile allegedly involved in the incident.
Police said the motorcycle used by the accused, which they had abandoned while fleeing after the attack, was recovered near the crime scene.
Family members and acquaintances of the deceased expressed shock over the killing. Santosh's uncle, who reached the spot after being informed, recounted the scene.
"When I came here, I saw him lying on the floor, dead. I noticed that he had been stabbed twice. I am not aware of what exactly happened. He was just 27 years old and used to work in a steel company with me. I don't know how many people were involved in the attack. We are from Nepal, and I have been working here for 15 years. I think he was stabbed outside and later came inside the toilet to save himself. There was a bike outside which I think belonged to the attackers," he said.
Police said the motive behind the crime appears to be road rage -- a sudden and heated altercation on the road that spiralled into a violent assault resulting in the victim's death.
Efforts are underway to identify and apprehend any other persons involved in the attack. Police teams are analysing CCTV footage from the surrounding area and examining local witnesses to piece together the sequence of events.
