New Delhi: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Sunday, in an oblique reference to the Trinamool Congress (TMC), said that a party "famous for its tainted leaders" was trying to make inroads into Tripura and bringing smugglers, drug kingpins and ganja mafia on board across the state.
"After taking the oath of office, this government declared a war against drugs. We are putting every effort to stop these nefarious elements from destroying the future of our next generation. On the other hand, these elements are getting a grand welcome to that party,” Deb said, without mentioning the party.
The chief minister said the people of Tripura will not accept such elements and if they thought they would hide their real faces behind a political affiliation, “they are wrong”.
"Not a single person will be spared. I know what is going on in the state. I can read out the names of those involved in such heinous businesses aloud. If you feel you will be spared, you are wrong," Deb said.
He was addressing a mega joining registration drive at Barjala Assembly constituency located in the peripheries of Agartala city. Deb, in the presence of BJP Tripura state president Dr Manik Saha, welcomed 956 people from several opposition parties, including the main opposition, the CPI-M.
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Deb said, “What is their political standing? All kinds of smuggling, from coal to cattle... this party holds the first rank. And now, they are questioning the government whose primary aim is to ensure development.” He also attacked the earlier ruling CPI-M party saying Tripura "rejected slavery and embraced freedom" on March 03, 2018—the day the Assembly elections results were declared.
“People are now free from party office culture. Party offices used to exert control over everything in the state. If someone wanted to get his young girl married, the party has had a say on it. That narrow-minded culture has been totally uprooted from Tripura,” Deb said.
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During his speech, he turned nostalgic and shared his early days in Tripura as the BJP state unit president. “As a party president, my first big responsibility was to conduct the Barjala by-elections. I had worked extensively in this constituency and my mothers and sisters of this area know me very well,” he concluded.
Dr Manik Saha requested the Trinamool Congress leaders to refrain from shedding crocodile tears and think of their own states first. “In their states, thousands of BJP workers fear to even return home. The modesty of women is outraged, arsons, vandalism has become a daily affair post the election results. And, in Tripura, they speak about democracy. I urge the people of Tripura to ask them sharp and straight questions”, Saha said.
