By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMHALA, June 3: Following the much speculated row over the eligibility of the newly appointed and youngest Kalon Sharling Dhardon due to her age for a Kalon under the charter of the Central Tibetan Administration, the Sikyong Lobsang Sangay today withdrew his nomination for the newly appointed Kalon in the Tibetan parliament.
The Date of Birth of Dhardon Sharling obtained from the database (green book) of the Department of Finance and archive of TPPRC is Sept. 23, 1981 which is over 3 months short of the criterion. The exile government charter’s Article 21 (3) Qualification of a Kalon mandates “At least 35 years of age;” among nine other qualifications for any candidate.
The Sikyong today said that the facade is a result of lack of research from his side. “The Supreme Justice Commission has been submitted with the necessary documents related to the age of the said Kalon this morning and the Kashag, after a meeting on the issue, has come to the decision to withdraw the Kalon from the cabinet,” Sangay said.
Sangay further added, “The background process of appointing Kalon is secretive and I approached each of them on Monday morning (May 30); the said Kalon on enquiry told me that she was born in 1981 which if taken only on the basis of the year of birth amounts to 35 years of age. Of course, under the circumstances, she had not noticed that she was ineligible by a few months. Hence I apologize to the house and declare that it was not an attempt to deceive anyone. Kindly consider the withdrawal of the said Kalon from the cabinet,” Dr. Sangay further added.
The Chithue (MP) who raked in the most votes in the parliamentary elections told journalists that it was a gaffe and not an intentional attempt to mislead anyone. She said, “There is no way around the matter other than to admit my mistake and apologize to the people although it is a slip-up on my part and certainly not an attempt to mislead anyone. I respect the Tibetan Charter and truly believe that no one is above the law.”
Sharling wrote on her Facebook page, “I admire the professionalism and the unbiased manner in which the deliberation process was conducted today in the Parliament. I remain firmly committed to serving His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan people and the Central Tibetan Administration in any capacity and doing my best in realizing our hopes of freedom in Tibet.”
The Speaker Ven. Sonam Tenphel said he deemed the debacle “a slip up” on the part of the Tibetan PM and not “an intentional attempt to deceive” the parliament as suggested by a fellow MP who told the house that the incident is indicative of Sikyong’s “breach of oath”.
