• Abhijit Nath, NET Correspondent, Tripura

Agartala, 01 August 2022: Chief Minister of Tripura – Dr. Manik Saha today claimed that the tribal people of the state have never witnessed multiple spending initiatives of thousands of crores of rupees undertaken under the BJP-led government regime under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The indigenous people of Tripura have been used by Left Front led governments for 35 years and Congress for five years in the past and deprived of their own dignity, he added.

Addressing the Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Membership Scheme at Karbook Assembly Constituency in Gomati District, Dr Saha noted that indigenous peoples have been left in a dilemma in the past as political parties never informed them of development initiatives.

“During the left-wing regime of 1978, we all know how the communists used tribal voters for electoral purposes. In reality, they never thought about the development of these indigenous peoples of Tripura. Despite being in power for 35 years, why are the socio-economic condition of the tribal people and the condition of the roads in the ADC areas not developed? The main motive of left-wing leaders was to keep the poor as poor in society, which helped the leaders to do politics with them in an easier way,” he said.

Comparing the British to the Communists, the Chief Minister said: “Left-wing leaders had learned the policy of divide and conquer and adopted this policy between Bengalis and Tribals which led to a violent riot in 1980 which left over 3,000 dead. In this way the state was governed. During their regime, the terrorists increased, the livelihoods of ordinary people had become disastrous. In Tripura, 20 seats out of 60 constituencies are reserved for ST candidates. The Left Front considered these 20 seats granted as they understood that the tribal population can be duped at gunpoint, showing fear of terrorists.

“The government under Prime Minister Modi looks forward to the development of the whole maintaining consistency with the slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Joy’ and ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Bikas Sabka Biswas’. The footsteps of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay are followed to reach the last person in the society and provide all the benefits. Without creating any kind of restrictions in caste or religion, BJP led governments provide benefits under PMAY, FHTCs to every household, BJP never believed in politics, electricity for all , Tin Talaq was launched, etc. CM.

Citing some of the important initiatives undertaken under the BJP-led government in Tripura, the Chief Minister said, “Agartala Airport is named after Maharaja Bir Bikram and a holiday was declared in his honor on 19 August each year, 12 blocks inhabited by indigenous people were declared aspirational blocks, 32 Bandhan groups were formed to purchase forest resources from tribal people through the MSP.Thus, confidence in the BJP increased among the inhabitants of the tribal belts.

“In addition, efforts are underway to establish a 100-bed boys’ home in Shillong. The government has taken the initiative to transform the current ADC into the Territorial Council of Tripura and there are plans to increase the number of seats to 50 so that people from all ethnic groups have adequate representation. Plans have been made to set up 16 Eklavya model schools in the tribal areas, four of which are currently functioning. The government has adopted more comprehensive plans including addressing the Bru Reang refugee problem, projects of around Rs 1,300 crore to improve the living standards of ADC areas,” Dr Saha told the rally.

Later, the Chief Minister welcomed 824 voters from 302 families under the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of BJP State Vice Chairman Rampada Jamatia, Gomati District ‘Prabhari’ Ratan Ghosh, Chairman of the district of Gomati Abhishek Debroy, the president of Karbook Mandal Rabindra Reang and the others.