Shortly after being named the new president of Tripura Pradesh
Congress Committee (PCC), Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debburman on Saturday
met former CM Samir Ranjan Barman at his Agartala residence and welcomed
him back with a pledge to work towards reviving lost political grounds
in the state. Barman was expelled from the party in March 2017.
Addressing a press conference at Tripura Pradesh Congress Bhavan in
the evening, Pradyot said that he aims at building a party with the
participation of educated and honest people, including youth, women,
professionals. “It is my personal ambition to bring in youth, women,
professionals, graduates – people who will work with honesty and
integrity. I think what we need most at this hour is clean politics,”
Pradyot Kishore said in his first ever address as the state Congress
chief.
Former PCC president Birajit Sinha, who shared the dais with Pradyot
last week to discuss committees formed eyeing the forthcoming Parliament
elections, was not present at the media briefing today. Former PCC
president and senior leader Gopal Chandra Roy and few other leaders also
skipped the briefing.
However, estranged leaders like former All India Youth Congress
(AIYC) leader Baptu Chakraborty was seen with Pradyot, along with vice
president Tapas Dey, spokesperson Harekrishna Bhowmik, former minister
Billal Miah, former minister Laxmi Nag and others.
Congress, which had 10 MLAs in the state Assembly in 2013, was
reduced to a party with less than 2 per cent votes and zero MLAs in
assembly elections last year in February. A large number of leaders led
by former Pradesh Congress president Sudip Roy Barman defected to
Trinamool Congress in 2016. They further shifted camp and joined BJP in 2017.
Asked about his policy for running the party, the new president
Pradyot Kishore said he would give due respect to everyone and expect
cooperation from them in return. “I believe that no problem should be
there if we give everyone their due respect. I have decided to take
former Chief Minister Samir Ranjan Barman to New Delhi and have him meet
Congress president Rahul Gandhi. I shall also talk with all other
leaders and take their advice,” the 39-year-old leader said.
He also said that he would work towards building a “BJP Mukt
Northeast” in the Lok Sabha elections. Pradyot claimed that people,
especially youth are frustrated due to unfulfilled, tall claims made by
BJP and Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) in the state.
On a recent magisterial enquiry report on the police firing on the
Citizenship Bill protesters at Madhabbari in West Tripura on January 8
this year, Pradyot accused the incumbent BJP-IPFT government of
safeguarding those responsible for the incident by scapegoating
Prankrishna Das, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Jirania.
On Friday, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said in a statement in the
state Assembly that action would be taken against the SDPO of Jirania
and a doctor for their role in the Madhabbari incident.
