The Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi stoked controversy on Saturday by referring to Sikkim as an independent country in an ad for civil defence recruitment.
The eligibility criteria in the ad to recruit volunteers as civil defence corps stated “any citizen of Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan or a resident of Delhi are eligible for the post”, thus referring the north-eastern state as a separate entity by placing it with neighbouring countries Bhutan and Nepal.
Coming down heavily on the Delhi government for the ad, the Chief Minister of Sikkim Prem Singh Tamang said that Sikkim has been a part of India since 1975 and added that the state just celebrated the State Day a week ago.
He said that it was condemnable and requested Delhi government to rectify the issue.
This advertisement published by the Delhi Government in various print media mentions Sikkim along with countries like Bhutan and Nepal. Sikkim has been a part of India since 1975 and celebrated the State Day just a week ago.
— Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) (@GolayPs) May 23, 2020