New Delhi: The new BJP-led ministry headed by Dr Manik Saha took charge in the North Eastern State of Tripura.
Dr Manik Saha and his new ministerial colleagues took oath for the second time as the State Chief Minister on March 8.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda, Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Sikkim Himanta Biswa Sarma, Pema Khandu, N Biren Singh and P S Tamang, respectively, attended the ceremony.
In February 16 Assembly polls, the BJP won 32 seats while its ally Indigenous People’s Front (IPFT) of Tripura, got one.
The BJP’s ally IPFT got one ministerial berth as Sukla Charan Noatia took oath as Minister.
There were three new Ministers – Tinku Roy, a former CM Biplab Deb confidante, Bikash Debbarma, chief of the BJP’s Scheduled Tribes Morcha, and Sudhanshu Das.
Four of the new Ministers have been retained from the previous Government. They are Ratan Lal Nath, Pranajit Singha Roy, Shantana Chakma and Sushanta Chowdhury. Manoj Deb from Kamalpur and Bhagaban Das has been dropped.
In the 60-member assembly, the ministry can have 12 Ministers in total. That means a minor expansion may be taken up later in a few months.
Amit Shah meets Tipra Motha leader Pradyot Kishore Debbarma
In a key development vis-a-vis welfare measures for the tribals in Tripura, Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and BJP chief J.P Nadda held talks with Tipra Motha chief at Agartala on March 8.
Assam Chief Minister and NEDA convener Himanta Biswa Sarma were also present in the meeting.
Talking to reporters in Agartala, BJP leader and National spokesman Sambit Patra later said that a series of talks would be held with alliance partner IPFT, Tipra Motha and other social organisations on the issues related to tribals in the State.
To a media query about whether the Motha leader Pradyot wants the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, Sambit Patra said that no such demand was made during the meeting. He said Amit Shah also met former
State Minister late N C Debbarma’s daughter Jayanti Debbarma and BJP leader Patalkanya Jamatia.
Pradyot Kishore later wrote on social media that the Home Minister had started the “process for a constitutional solution for the IPFT. An interlocutor for this process will be appointed, and this will be within a specific time frame”.
Tipra Motha won 13 seats, having polled 22 per cent of votes in the February 16 polls.
Sambit Patra also stated that the solution to the issues of tribals in Tripura would be drawn out based on the slogan of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’.
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