© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Tripura Opposition leader Animesh Debbarma Wednesday piled heat on the ruling BJP-led state government, saying lofty claims of development made by the government are only seen in posters and papers. He also demanded Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha to reach out to the people on the ground.
In a media briefing, Debbarma said different parts of Tripura, especially the far flung villages, are reeling under an acute drinking water crisis, lakhs of youths are suffering from unemployment, adequate work isn’t available under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and payment for work done under the flagship scheme is still pending, in many areas for over two months.
“It’s been over a year since so many Teachers Eligibility Test (TET)-II candidates have qualified the examination. The government is yet to announce the results of the Selection Test for Graduate Teachers (STGT). We came to know that 5,304 posts are still vacant for the STGT through an RTI response. The CM later said that 1,239 posts are vacant. How come the government data and the one that got through an RTI reply are different?” Debbarma asked.
“At a Sonamura school, senior students were seen conducting classes of junior students. Why is the government silent on the lack of recruitment? Let them come out with a clarification,” he said.
He claimed his calls and calls by his personal secretary on public interest issues weren’t received by the Chief Minister’s Office and said, “I have been trying to call the CM for the last five days. If this is the condition of an Opposition leader, what’s the condition of the common people?”
Debbarma also questioned the government over claims of providing safe drinking water to all households and said people in the villages, especially the tribal hamlets, are suffering from problems with drinking water.
In a sharp critique against Saha, Debbarma said the state government and the CM himself are responsible for the lapses in governance. He added, “The situation is such since Saha is running the government from Agartala only without visiting the villages.”
“Funds from the state are going outside. Contractors from other states like Punjab, Delhi etc are coming to Tripura to work,” Debbarma alleged.
While criticising the erstwhile Left Front government for its work, he said the BJP-led government took double the amount of loan in the last six years alone, compared to what was left behind by Left rulers till 2018.
Debbarma listed out a number of failures, including failure to hold any Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) survey since 2018, failure to provide additional person-days under the MGNREGS during the Durga Puja, purported failure in turning 100 villages into model villages, failure to provide proper treatment at public hospitals, power transmission issues and a host of allegations on law and order situation.
Debbarma said, “The CM needs to go out of his office and meet people in the villages. There’s no point in holding Janata Darbar meetings in Agartala. These should be done in villages. Let people speak their minds. The CM is not only in charge of the CM’s office. He also happens to be the minister of 34-35 other departments. I don’t know why he is quiet.”
Referring to BJP’s claim that the country is moving ahead, Debbarma questioned why Tripura, which is an integral part of the country, is not in the nation’s development journey.
His allegations come in stark contrast to the state government’s claim that Tripura is among the topmost states of the Northeast region and among the few fastest developing states of the country.
Since the BJP-led government came to power in Tripura, it claimed its main objective is to turn Tripura into a model state of development.
Debbarma also demanded an investigation into the alleged medicine procurement tender of the state government where it allegedly granted the order to a blacklisted company for stockpiling medicines for the next two years.
Debbarma also sought investigation on an alleged scam in developing public amenities in 65 model villages of the state and said the government has failed to provide basic law and order satisfaction to the citizens.
“Murders, rapes, abductions, illegal drug trade, TCA investigation, land grabbing, mafia tax and factional feud over forced subscription within the BJP are common these days. They (BJP) promised ‘proti ghore susashan’ (good governance in every household) but Tripura now has ‘Proti ghore nirjaton’ (oppression at every household). The government needs to strictly deal with these. Merely saying that action would be taken wouldn’t suffice,” Debbarma said.
He said Opposition MLAs are working in their constituencies but the ruling government isn’t taking their suggestions.
“On top of that, the government is now claiming some projects are running slow and would be deferred. It may be because they don’t have any money left. We want a clarification on this,” Debbarma demanded.
In a terse warning, Debbarma said, “If people wake up, no government can stay.”
No reaction was available from the state government or the BJP till the filing of this report.
