Sikkim CM to get literary award

GANGTOK: Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, who is also a poet, has been selected for the Lifetime Achievement in Literature award by a Kolkata based organisation.
Pradip Kumar Chaudhuri, general secretary of Poet Foundation, told reporters here on Friday that a committee comprising 12 eminent literary persons from across the country selected Chamling for his poems on the poor and downtrodden.
The award, consisting of a gold medal, a citation, Rs 10,000 cash, books and cassettes, would be given to Chamling by Sikkim Governor V Rama Rao in Gangtok on Sunday.
This would be the second literary award for Chamling, having 14 published works to his credit. The chief minister, who has a pen name Kiran, received his first award in 1986 from a local organisation.
Chaudhuri said the had decided to present the award to Chamling in Gangtok as he could not make it to the original ceremony in Kolkata in December 2002.