Agartala, Feb 3 (UNI) – CM Manik Saha | The opposition CPI-M and Congress are resorting to “false propaganda” against the ruling BJP to “mislead” the people of Tripura, but the voters will teach them a lesson in the February 16 Assembly election, Chief Minister Manik Saha said on Friday.
Exuding confidence that the BJP will get a comfortable majority in the polls, 70-year-old Saha told UNI that since the 2004 general election, the Congress and leftists have come closer, which was reflected in subsequent elections of Tripura and West Bengal. (CM Manik Saha)
Despite continuous oppression, under development, and the autocratic rule of the Left Front, the Congress high command never realized the need to make Tripura free from the clutches of the communists, rather they “cheated” the people of the state, the senior BJP leader alleged.
“Delhi Me Dosti – Tripura Me Kusti (friendship in Delhi and fight in Tripura) is a well-known fact for which Congress lost the election in 2008 and 2013. The CPI-M ruled Tripura for 25 years without ushering in the minimum development. We have seen how CPI-M and Congress engaged in proxy fights and finally, the Congress surrendered to the communists in the election,” said Saha, who began his political innings with the Congress, before switching allegiance to the BJP in 2016.
“Congress always gifted Tripura to the communists for retaining power at the centre, but in 2014 they lost to Narendra Modi,” Saha said on the sidelines of a door-to-door campaign here. Saha is in the fray from the Town Bordowali constituency in the city.
People have seen the “misrule” of Congress in Tripura between 1988 and 1993. It was followed by 25 years of uninterrupted communist rule where “murder, mayhem, bloodshed, carnage, corruption, and under-development” were the “salient” features, said the dental surgeon-turned-politician.
The CPI-M-led Left Front had perpetrated all those atrocities during its earlier stint in power in the state from 1977-1988. But during the five years of BJP rule since 2018, Tripura has witnessed a sea change in overall development, peace, transparency, tranquillity and sustainability, he claimed.
Saha accused the Congress and the LF, which are fighting the elections together, of joining hands with the sole motive of retaining their existence, and “not for any noble cause or issue”.
“I am sure the people will give them a befitting reply in the election. Despite all their false propaganda against the BJP and attempts to mislead the people, we will get a comfortable majority,” he said, adding that the people are expecting more development, as five years were not enough to clear the backlog of 25 years of communist rule.
The BJP-led government in Tripura has ensured insurance of agriculture, MSP on paddy, export of horticultural produces, while students got free mobile, an opportunity of studying the CBSE curriculum, good infrastructure and several academic excellence activities.
He said lot of infrastructure projects were also taken up, including eight national highways, an international airport, superfast train connectivity with all big cities from Agartala, digital infrastructure, besides exemplary initiatives for women empowerment.
Reacting to the reported feud in BJP over leadership and nomination in the state, the Chief Minister said, “Difference of opinion is the beauty of democracy, it’s not an internal feud. BJP has internal democracy. Every member has the right to accept or reject any move of the government. We all are united under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.
Saha became the state chief minister in May last year replacing Biplab Kumar Deb, who was ordered by the BJP central leadership to step down.
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