By Firstdespatch Desk Mar 08, 2023
Agartala, Mar 8 (FD) A nine member-council of ministers headed by Seventy-year-old BJP leader Dr Manik Saha on Wednesday took oath in Tripura in presence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP’s national President Jagat Prakash Nadda.
Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya administered the oath and secrecy of office to Dr Saha as the Chief Minister during a historic event at Swami Vivekananda Maidan here.
The other eight ministers of BJP-IPFT government include Ratan Lal Nath, Pranajit Singha Roy, Santana Chakma, Sushanta Chowdhury, Bikash Debbarma, Sukla Charan Noatia, Tinku Roy, Shudhangshu Das.
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang among other dignitaries attended the swearing-in ceremony.
Of the nine members of the cabinet, four were new faces, while five ministers, who were in the earlier cabinet, found a place in the fresh line-up.
Four ministers- Bhagaban Das, Manoj Kanti Deb, Ram Prasad Paul and Rampada Jamatia, who were in the previous cabinet and fought the 2023 elections and secured victory have been denied berth this time.
Tinku Roy, Sudhangshu Das, Bikas Debbarma and Sukla Charan Noatia, the lone MLA from the In
digenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) have been inducted in the new council of ministers for the first time.
Union Minister Pratima Bhaumik, who won the election from Dhanpur Assembly constituency in Sepahijala district, did not take oath.
However, three ministerial berths have been kept vacant in view of the possible participation of Tipra Motha Party (TMP) in the BJP-led government.
The opposition Left and the Congress boycotted the swearing-in ceremony of the second BJP-led government, protesting against post-poll violence.
Pradesh Congress president Birajit Sinha said the party will boycott the swearing-in ceremony of the Manik Saha government as a mark of protest against the post-poll violence.
None of the 13 MLAs from Tipra Motha was seen at the oath-taking ceremony but party supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma wrote on social media that “Tipra has not compromised! Wait and watch”.
In a Facebook post he wrote, “I am sure we will be asked to meet the Government of India for our constitutional solution. And we will only talk about the rights of 14 lakh Tiprasas and not the individual benefits of our leaders”.
The BJP won 32 seats, while its ally IPFT managed to secure one seat in the 60-member state assembly, for which elections were held on February 16. The poll results were declared on March 02 last.
Dr Saha had been made chief minister earlier in 2022, replacing Biplab Kumar Deb, in a brand renewal exercise after it was found that his popularity rating was plunging on account of the poor law and order situation in Tripura. FD PD JK