Sikkim Lok Sabha MP Indra Hang Subba on Sunday stressed that climate and development polices could not be “one size fits all” in a diverse country like India and pressed for inclusive policy making during the all-party floor leaders’ meeting at the Parliament Annexe Building.
The meeting, held at the main committee hall of the annexe building, was chaired by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, in the presence of parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju along with other ministers.
The meeting sought cooperation from leaders of all political parties during the Parliament’s winter session slated from Monday to December 19.
A statement issued by Subba’s Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), which is an ally of the BJP government at the Centre, stated that Subba stressed on region-specific policies.
“He (Subba) said that in a country as diverse as India, climate and development policies cannot adopt a uniform, one-size-fits-all approach. Subba called for inclusive policy-making through meaningful consultations with representatives from various regions,” the statement read.
Subba advocated the formation of a parliamentary committee dedicated to the Himalayan region, comprising MPs from Himalayan states and Union territories, to address the terrain’s unique developmental and climate challenges.
Over the past few years, both political and civil groups were raising the need for a separate ministry to look into issues of the Himalayan regions, from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeast.
Party sources said that Subba raised serious concerns over the escalating impacts of climate change in the Himalayan region.
“He emphasised the urgent need for a comprehensive and dedicated discussion in Parliament on the subject, noting flash floods and related disasters have become more frequent and devastating across the Himalayas. He said the situation called for concrete, region-specific climate policies that protect the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable mountain communities,” the source added.
Subba, the lone Sikkim representative in Parliament, urged the Centre to ensure adequate representation of Scheduled Tribes in state legislative Assemblies.
“The MP stressed indigenous communities require special protection and support from the Centre as their empowerment was essential to India’s overall progress,” the source said.
Subba highlighted that Limbu and Tamang communities in Sikkim were deprived of their constitutional right to reserved Assembly seats since 2003.
“He called for amendments to the Representation of the People Act (RPA) to ensure rightful reservation for the Scheduled Tribes and appealed to all political parties to support the move,” the source said.