Tripura Opposition slams choice of state emblem, govt hits back
Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury took potshots at Opposition leader Jitendra Chaudhary for his objection to the use of saffron colour in the state emblem and stated that the same colour was on the National Flag.
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"The state emblem of any state needs to represent the state, its history, culture, tradition, and nature. Famous artists, writers, and intellectuals ought to be consulted on such issues to make them acceptable to everyone.” stated Chaudhary. Tripura Opposition leader Jitendra Chaudhary Monday trained guns at the state government in the House over the recently approved state emblem, claiming it did not reflect the history, culture, or tradition of the province.
Speaking about the state emblem, Chaudhury said, “We did not have any state emblem until now. The state government has sent a proposal and the Government of India has approved it as per convention. We thank them for the initiative. But the state emblem of any state needs to represent the state, its history, culture, tradition, and nature. Famous artists, writers, and intellectuals ought to be consulted on such issues to make them acceptable to everyone.”
He added that members of the intelligentsia are requesting Opposition MLAs to raise the issue in the House.
Chaudhury suggested that in keeping with the traditions of the state, elephants could have been used in the state emblem.
He also reasoned that since Tripura has one of the highest ratios of land to green cover in the country, the green colour could have been used in the emblem instead of saffron.
In his response, Chief Minister Manik Saha retorted that the erstwhile Left Front government did not introduce any state emblem even after staying in power for decades.
Defending the choice of state emblem, he said, “We tried to reach out to artists… experts were consulted before the Cabinet decided on the emblem.”
He further said, “We had considered using elephant, pineapple, Ujjayanta Palace, Rudrasagar and many other motifs for the state emblem but these were found to be cluttering the design…”
During the discussion on the matter, Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said all due procedures were followed in choosing the state emblem. An advertisement was published, competitions were organised, and the proposal came thrice before the Cabinet and only then the final design was approved.
He also took potshots at the Opposition leader for his objection to the use of saffron colour and stated that the same colour was on the National Flag and also the flags of many Opposition parties.
On January 8, Chief Minister Saha had announced the Centre’s decision to approve the design of the state emblem or state logo.
The newly approved state emblem depicts the national emblem at the centre of an outline of the map of Tripura, which is placed in a saffron circle with the ‘Government of Tripura’ written below.
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