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Sikkim Cabinet ministers get escort vehicles

Following an announcement made by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling in December last, all Cabinet ministers in Sikkim were on Wednesday…

Sikkim Cabinet ministers get escort vehicles

Escort vehicles

Following an announcement made by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling in December last, all Cabinet ministers in Sikkim were on Wednesday given escort cars (police pilot). As the state celebrated the completion of 23 years of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) Government in December, Mr Chamling had directed the state administration to immediately implement certain decisions, including the pilot cars for Cabinet ministers of the state government.

A line of Bolero cars headed from the police headquarters here to the residences of the ministers early on Wednesday, while later in the afternoon, the ministers were seen escorted by the police to a programme at Chintan Bhawan. Prior to this, only the Chief Minister, the Governor, Speaker and High Court judges had been using the pilot cars.

“Firstly, the pilots have been provided to the Cabinet ministers so that they reach their office on time during traffic jams to work effectively for the public,” SDF Spokesperson KT Gyaltsen said. “Secondly, High Court judges are already using pilots, and they are on a par in rank with Cabinet ministers. So if the judges can, the ministers can too,” he added.

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According to him, in a recent “sad incident,’ Minister NK Subba was detained on the highway in West Bengal, as he did not have the escort. “Overall, the pilots have been issued on public interest,” he said. However, the opposition Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) condemned the move.

Acting President of the SKM Kunga Nima Lepcha said the pilot cars were an additional financial burden on the government exchequer. “This should not have been done as the expenditure used in the pilots could have been used for some other better purposes,” he said.

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