BJP sees red over Tripura governor’s praise for LF

TRIPURA: The battle between BJP and the Left Front in Tripura, which saw members of Students’ Federation of India and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad clashing in Dharmanagar recently, has taken an unexpected turn.
Governor Tathagata Roy, a veteran BJP leader, has left his party red-faced by praising the state’s Left Front government thrice since his appointment in May.
“In my brief experience in Tripura, I found the administration better than that in West Bengal. The level of corruption is less. Whenever I spoke to chief minister Manik Sarkar on various issues, I found his response positive,” Roy told TOI.
That isn’t all. The leader from Bengal added, “As head of the state, my duty is to assist the government in ensuring the welfare of the people. I find the Tripura government discharging its duties positively,” Roy said. Aware that the state BJP may be less than thrilled with his comments, he added a caveat. “My opinion is nothing but a personal assessment of the situation in a short period,” the governor said.
Referring to the BJP’s claim that the CPM MLA from Nalchar threatened RSS activists recently, Roy said, “As soon as I was informed of the matter, I spoke to the chief minister and told him to look into it. Sarkar assured me that he would take action.”
Roy’s approbation of the Manik Sarkar-led government in Tripura has not gone down well with the state unit of the party. President of state BJP Sudhindra Dasgupta said the governor’s understanding of corruption and governance in Tripura is ‘not proper’.
“We have seen the development of the state since its inception. We have seen the rule of six chief ministers, including Manik Sarkar. What the governor said is not endorsed by the BJP in any way,” Dasgupta said and accused the ruling CPM of trying to create political unrest in colleges and other academic institutions by launching a smear campaign against the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre.
“Leaders of CPM, including Sarkar, are branding BJP and Modi as ‘communal’. They have been instigating students against the Centre for no reason,” Dasgupta alleged.
“The academic atmosphere in both technical and non-technical colleges has deteriorated in the last five years. The colleges have turned into centres of producing CPM cadres. Most students are obtaining degrees, but without possessing any
employable skill,” Dasgupta added.