Barely months before the Lok Sabha election, All India Congress
Committee (AICC) has appointed Tripura royal scion Pradyot Kishore
Manikya Debburman as the new president of the Tripura Pradesh Congress
Committee.
A letter issued by AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal said Congress
president Rahul Gandhi has appointed Pradyot as the new PCC president
of Tripura. The statement also said that Congress party ‘appreciates’
the contribution of outgoing Tripura PCC president Birajit Sinha.
Pradyot comes from Tripura’s Manikya dynasty and both his parents
served as Members of Parliament for Congress. His mother and ‘Rajmata’
Bibhu Kumari Devi also served as minister in the Congress-Tripura
Upajati Juba Samiti (TUJS) coalition government in 1988. Pradyot has
been serving as the Working president of Tripura Congress till now.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, the royal scion said he would welcome
all those who left Congress and joined other political parties to
struggle against CPI (M) misrule.
“There was misrule in CPI (M) led Left Front regime and there is misrule in BJP-led
incumbent government’s tenure as well. I want to bring clean and honest
politics and want educated, young people to join the party. At the same
time, I appeal those who left the Congress for other political parties
to return,” Pradyot said.
Though the Congress was reduced to nearly 2 per cent vote share in
the 2018 state assembly election from 10 MLAs in the previous Assembly,
Pradyot hopes to revive the party soon.
Earlier on Monday evening, he took to Twitter and wrote, “Thank you
@RahulGandhi! I hope to ensure that an era of clean and honest politics
is brought about in Tripura. To all my critics and friends alike I will
remain the same Pradyot.”
Tripura Congress vice-president Tapas Dey hailed Pradyot’s
appointment in the top PCC post and said all the Congress workers will
work unitedly under his stewardship against BJP misrule in the state.
