Bhandari rebuffs proposal to name road in his honour

Sikkim Congress President and Former Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari has rebuffed the state government's proposal to name a road in his honour.

"I have outrightly rejected the Pawan Kumar Chamling government's proposal to name the Buduan-Soreng Road in West Sikkim as Nar Bahadur Bhandari Marg and told them to refrain from offering such token gesture," he told reporters here.

The state government, at a cabinet meeting held on March nine last, had decided to name the Budang-Soreng Road in West Sikkim after Bhandari in recognition of his contribution, and had directed the Home department to seek the latter's consent proposal for the same.

Accordingly, the Home department Additional Secretary S K Pradhan had written a letter to Bhandari on March 12 seeking his consent for naming the road, but the former Chief Minister firmly replied the proposal was "not acceptable".

PTI

SIKKIM: Bhandari files nomination for Sikkim LS Polls

Sikkkim Congress president Nar Bahadur Bhandari today filed his nominations from the Khamdong-Singtam constituency in East district.

Bhandari’s absence from the state Assembly for the past two terms may end as Sikkim Gorkha Prajatantrik Party president G.M. Rai decided not to contest from the seat. The Congress leader will, however, also contest from Soreng-Chakung in West district from where he had won three times in the past and had become the chief minister.

In the last elections, both Bhandari and Rai had contested from Central Pendam, the old name of the Khamdong-Singtam constituency, and split the opposition votes. This time, the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has fielded Am Prasad Sharma, unknown to many in the area, against Bhandari, which, political observers feel, could have a positive impact on the Congress leader’s fortunes. MORE...

Peace & Prosperity under Congress govt: Nar Bahadur Bhandari

Entering into its fourth leg, the election trail of Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC) today reached Yangang constituency of South Sikkim where the party president Nar Bahadur Bhandari made a high pitched call to the Sikkimese electorate to vote for Congress keeping in mind ‘the future of their children’.

“An important tryst awaits Sikkimese people on April 30 when the voting will be done. We are confident that Congress will form the government. Please vote keeping in the mind the future and security of your coming generations”, said Mr. Bhandari while addressing the constituency level public meeting of SPCC at Yangang bazaar. MORE...

IRON IS HOT AND WE MUST STRIKE NOW: BHANDARI

Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC) president Nar Bahadur Bhandari today made a passionate appeal to the central party high command to extend ‘all out support’ to the State unit in the forthcoming Assembly elections. Addressing a press meet today along with Sanjay Bapna, AICC secretary and in charge of Sikkim, Mr. Bhandari said that the SPCC members are ‘geared up to meet stiff challenges’ to bring changes in the Sikkim as the people here are reeling under ‘extreme rule of anarchy unleashed by the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) party under the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling’. MORE...

Jail sentence for Bhandari

Gangtok, Oct. 26: Former Sikkim chief minister and state Congress president Nar Bahadur Bhandari was sentenced to six months of imprisonment in a corruption case related to a water supply project of the rural development department.

S.W. Lepcha, the designated CBI judge, also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Bhandari and granted him bail for 60 days to enable him to appeal to a higher court. Along with Bhandari, the court also convicted former chief secretary P.K. Pradhan and eight contractors. All of them were awarded the same punishment.

The judge ordered that the guilty would serve an additional one-month sentence if they failed to pay the fine.

Yesterday, the court had found Bhandari and the other accused guilty of criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The CBI had registered the case against 17 people, including Bhandari, in 1984 on the recommendations of B.B. Gooroong, the then chief minister. Gooroong was at the helm of the state from May 11 to 24 in 1984 after ousting Bhandari from the Congress.

Bhandari was the chief minister from 1979 till 1994. After Gooroong, he came back to power again in 1985 and stayed on till 1994.

Gooroong had alleged that Bhandari and Pradhan had used their positions in office to award contracts of the water supply project to their “favoured” contractors.

Court sources said the CBI was asked to inquire if Bhandari and Pradhan had awarded the contracts at a higher rate that had cost the Sikkim government over Rs 2.41 lakh extra.

This was also the first case to be registered in Sikkim by the CBI, the sources added.

In 2003, the CBI had framed charges against Bhandari and Pradhan accusing them of “criminal misconduct” and entering into a “criminal conspiracy” with 13 contractors by awarding them the work while flouting all norms. Five of the contractors have died since 1984.

Bhandari and Pradhan, who was then the secretary of the rural development department, was also accused of ignoring the recommendations of the tender committee which led to a loss to the state exchequer, the CBI chargesheet read.

Bhaskar Raj Pradhan, the counsel for Bhandari, said his client would appeal in a higher court. “I have examined the judgment and found serious errors in dealing with facts as well as the law,” he added.

Bhandari supports Gorkhaland issue

Gangtok , Sikkim : Sikkim State Congress President and Former Chief Minister of Sikkim Shri Nar Bahadur Bhandari on Sunday supported the demand for formation of a separate Gorkhaland state. "Only the formation of separate Gorkhaland state could fulfil the aspirations of the hill people of Darjeeling and surrounding areas.... The special autonomous status under the sixth schedule of the constitution was not sufficient for economic development of the region," he said. The former Sikkim chief minister said he would espouse the cause of a separate Gorkhaland state even as he took a dig at the GNLF chief Subash Ghising for distancing himself from the demand of the statehood by expressing satisfaction at the centre's decision for according special status to the hill region under the sixth schedule.

Source: Sikkim News

Arrest warrants against Nar Bahadur Bhandari and other five Congress men

Gangtok , Sikkim : The court of the civil judge here has issued bailable arrest warrants against Sikkim Congress president Nar Bahadur Bhandari and five others in a defamation suit filed by B.B. Gurung, the adviser to chief minister Pawan Chamling.

Gooroong had charged Bhandari and the editorial team of the Congress periodical Sandesh for defaming him and tarnishing his image in an article that appeared in it in November last year.

Titled Sikkim Ma Burmaloot, the article had letters purportedly written by Gooroong to former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi asking them to withdraw the special rights of the Sikkimese people and the “son of the soil” policy.

Gooroong had claimed that the letters were forged and filed a defamation suit. Today, he was present in court along with two witnesses: former Lok Sabha member from Sikkim and presently the general secretary (publicity) of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front Bhim Dahal and member of the Sikkim planning commission Y.B. Thapa.

In what has been touted as a rare and swift order never seen in the state before, the civil-judge-cum-magistrate Prajwal Khatiwa examined the complainant and the two witnesses and took cognisance of the offence. The next date of hearing has been fixed for August 31 and the arrests can be made any day before that.

Besides Bhandari, the others who have been booked under Sections 500 (for defamation) and 469 (forgery for defaming) of the IPC are the chief editor of the Congress periodical Santosh Bardewa, Purna Kumari Rai, Dil Kumari Chhettri, Anil Lachenpa, and J.B. Darnal.

Speaking to The Telegraph later Gooroong said the judge taking cognisance of his petition was a major victory and. “The letters were concocted and forged and the truth is now coming out.”

Source: The Telegraph

Former Sikkim CM's legal battle

Gangtok, Sikkim: Acquitted in one CBI case and found guilty in another, there is more legal battle in store for Sikkim Congress president Nar Bahadur Bhandari.

The CBI today appealed in the high court against the verdict of the special court at Namchi, which had acquitted the former chief minister in one of the cases related to possession of wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Counsel for the CBI V.K. Sharma filed the appeal at a time when Bhandari was attending a hearing of the third CBI case against him in the district and sessions court (East and North) in Gangtok today.

Terming the verdict a “gross miscarriage of justice”, Sharma said: “We have pleaded in our appeal that the learned special judge misread the facts and laws on record.”

A date for the hearing of the case will be fixed only after the high court examines the petition.

Bhandari had been given a clean chit by Tashi Wangdi, the special judge of the Namchi court trying cases under Prevention of Corruption Act. The 51-page order had acquitted him of all charges in the particular case.

The case was first registered by the CBI in 1997. The chargesheet was filed in 2001. The agency had alleged that Bhandari had amassed wealth worth Rs 1.12 crore against an income of Rs 44 lakh during his tenure as chief minister from 1985 to 1994.

The case hinged on the fact that Bhandari had taken on lease a plot of land from one Ashok Tshering Bhutia and had constructed a house on that, the cost of which was Rs 84 lakh. The house was in the name of his son.

Bhandari, however, was found guilty in another CBI case, the verdict of which was delivered in the last week of May. He was sentenced to one month simple imprisonment for amassing Rs 22 lakh — a part of which was allegedly spent on constructing Primula House at Church Road here.

S.W. Lepcha, the special judge in Gangtok, had granted bail the same day after hearing the plea of Bhandari’s counsel that he would appeal in a higher court.

Source: The Telegraph