GANGTOK, Aug 23: Former Urban Development and Housing minister Arun Kumar Upreti was elected the new Speaker of the Sikkim Assembly on Monday.
Upreti, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha MLA of the Arithang constituency, was the sole candidate in the Speaker election.
The post of the Speaker went vacant after LB Das resigned on August 16. He is likely to become a minister in the Cabinet reshuffle which is in the offing.
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In his address as the Speaker, Upreti said he will discharge his duties while maintaining the decorum and sanctity of the House.
Meanwhile, chief minister P S Tamang, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the first Supplementary Demands for Grants for the financial year 2022-23. Approval of the Assembly is sought to authorise the gross additional expenditure of Rs 359.72 crore. The government also presented 12 Bills in the Assembly.
Tamang, who is also the minister in charge of the home department, introduced the Sikkim Official Languages (Amendment) Bill which seeks to include Bhujel as one of the official languages of the state.
Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister B S Panth introduced the Sikkim Registration and Licensing of Tourist Trade Bill that proposes provisions for enabling the department to offer online transactional services to travellers.
The Mahatma Gandhi University Sikkim Bill was presented by Education minister Kunga Nima Lepcha. The Bill seeks to set up a private university at Daramdin in Soreng district. (PTI)
