Gangtok: Sikkim Chief Minister, Prem Singh Tamang, on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for attending the concluding ceremony of the 50th statehood anniversary celebrations of Sikkim and said the Himalayan state is working in close coordination with the Centre on development and national security.
Speaking to reporters here, CM Tamang said the Prime Minister had taken time out of his busy schedule to participate in multiple programmes during his visit to the state.
“I want to thank Prime Minister Modi for attending the concluding ceremony of 50 years of statehood of Sikkim. Despite his busy schedule, he has found time to attend several programmes here,” the Chief Minister said.
He said the state government and the Centre have been jointly implementing several key projects in Sikkim.
“We are working in close coordination with the central government. Many projects are underway in Sikkim through joint collaboration between the state government and the Centre,” Tamang said.
The Chief Minister added that national security remains a top priority for the state, particularly given Sikkim’s strategic location, and said the government is maintaining close cooperation with the Union government on the matter.
“Our priority is national security and we are working closely with the central government in this regard,” he said.
Referring to Prime Minister Modi’s vision of a developed India, Tamang said Sikkim is committed to contributing meaningfully to the goal of Viksit Bharat.
“We are also working to fulfil the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Viksit Bharat, and Sikkim will contribute meaningfully to this mission,” he said.
Tamang also said that no formal memorandum was submitted to the Prime Minister Modi during the visit as he had devoted time to meet people from different sections of society.
Tamang said the state leadership would instead place its development-related demands before the Prime Minister in the national Capital.
“We have not given any memorandum during this visit. We have decided that all 32 MLAs of the Sikkim Assembly will travel to Delhi and place our demands related to the development of the state before the Prime Minister,” the Chief Minister said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for multiple development projects worth around Rs 4,000 crore in Sikkim, asserting that the Northeast region is India’s “Ashtalakshmi” and that the Himalayan state is an important part of it.
Addressing a public gathering in the Paljor stadium, the Prime Minister said the Centre has attached special importance to the development of the Northeast over the past several years and has moved beyond the “Act East” policy to an “Act Fast” approach.
(IANS)
