Politics: The government’s Rising East Policy has got some support from among the political parties with the Bhutan Kuen-Nyam party (BKP) approving the initiative.

In a short statement, the BKP president, Sonam Tobgay said that to bring uniformity to development across the country such interventions are required and should not be misconstrued.

“BKP supports the initiative but the intervention need not be spearheaded by a click of leaders who would benefit from the action like the four Cabinet Ministers from the eastern constituencies,” said Sonam Tobgay in the statement.

However, the party suggested a group comprising of people from across the country based on their technical expertise and competence should work better as committee members to ring uniformity.

Indirectly condemning the opposition party and the Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa, the statement read, “Let’s put the people before politics and any action that betters their life is supported. We must be results oriented but let us field effective implementers and not look for feet to fit the shoe.”

Both the opposition and the DNT condemned the policy labeling it as a strategy to gain political mileage. DNT branded the policy ‘discriminatory” to gain short-term political mileage and asked the government to refrain from resorting to such tactics.

Before the DNT, the opposition party raised serious objections against the initiative calling the programme “regionalistic, discriminatory and divisive, and in direct violation of the Constitution”.

The Rising East programme is an initiative to give special attention to eastern dzongkhags to accelerate economic development. The government, among others, promises to fast track all tourism projects in the east and prepare a special international marketing package for the eastern dzongkhags.