Ex-Tripura MLAs who quit BJP join Congress

Sudip Roy Barman and Ashish Kumar Saha on Monday resigned from the Assembly and the primary membership of the ruling party saying democracy is at stake in Tripura under the BJP.

Sudip Roy Barman (R) and Ashish Kumar Saha join the Congress party. (Photo: ANI)

Two Tripura MLAs, who resigned from their posts and quit the Bharatiya Janata Party, on Tuesday morning joined the Congress party, following a meeting with Rahul Gandhi at his residence, ANI reported.

Speaking to ANI post his entry into Congress, Sudip Roy Barman said, “Many MLAs are ready (to quit) but perhaps they want to wait for a few more months due to a technicality. Everyone is disillusioned with the (BJP) party. I feel Tripura can go to polls along with Gujarat and Himachal.”

Barman and Ashish Kumar Saha on Monday resigned from the Assembly and the primary membership of the ruling party, saying democracy is at stake in Tripura under the BJP. Five-term MLA Roy Barman, who was dropped from the post of health minister in 2019, and Saha submitted their resignation papers to Speaker Ratan Chakraborty and said they would end the “conspiracy” to suppress the voice of the public under the current regime.

#WATCH | Sudip Roy Barman and Ashish Kumar Saha who resigned from their MLA posts in Tripura Assembly yesterday and also quit BJP, arrive at the residence of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/9ZQTuhKQBp

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2022

Barman told reporters that the voices of the people and the media were “suppressed, tortured and oppressed” under the BJP rule and added, “Now it’s our duty to revive democracy in the state and ensure that all the democratic institutions run according to the Constitution”. Roy Barman alleged that the BJP made “hollow” promises prior to the 2018 Assembly elections.

However, BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya rubbished the allegations against his party. “These allegations are baseless. Just two people resigning doesn’t prove anything they said. No minister in our government has said that they have no voice or that their authority was curbed,” he said.