Two Tripura leaders, who quit BJP, join Congress

All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal, party's Tripura in-charge Ajoy Kumar and state president Birajit Sinha welcomed the two leaders into the party fold.

Before formally joining the Congress, Roy Barman and Saha called on Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, top leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra separately on Tuesday morning and had detailed discussion over the latest political situation in the Northeastern state.

According to reports, both Roy Barman and Saha held several rounds of meetings with some BJP leaders including three party lawmakers from Tripura on Monday night regarding political developments in the state.

Leaders of some other Tripura opposition parties were also present at the discussions that centred on putting up a likely united fight against the BJP in Tripura.

After joining Congress, Roybarman told UNI, “We had committed a sin by joining BJP before the 2018 assembly elections and brought that party to power. Today we atoned for our sin by returning to Congress. It's a great feeling of homecoming after six years. We left the party in 2016 and joined TMC and later BJP, which was a blunder for ourselves and the people of Tripura as well.”

“I had begun my political journey 40 years ago in Congress and barring these six years,I have always been in the party. But this short break in two parties has taught me a lesson and I am convinced Congress is the best party not only for Tripura but also for the country to give a stable and welfare government to the citizens as mandated by the constitution,” Roybarman said.

He alleged there is "complete chaos, misrule, reign of terror and loot of public funds" in Tripura under the Biplab Kumar Deb government for the past four years and added, “Cabinet ministers have no power to take a decision, Chief Minister and a few of his blue-eyed bureaucrats are looting the state. An OSD of the Chief Minister from Bihar is dictating to media houses and journalists about the headlines of the news items. There is no democracy at all – whoever criticizes the misdeeds of the government is implicated in false cases or faces attacks from BJP hooligans.”

Roy Barman claimed that by the next month the Biplab Kumar Deb government "will be reduced to a minority, as a sizable number of MLAs including ministers are completely disillusioned and in the second week of March many of them will join Congress”.

"The BJP formed the government in 2018 not only because of (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, Amit Shah or Biplab Deb, it was made possible by our entry to the BJP to unseat the CPI-M. But now, all CPI-M sympathisers and criminals have become close associates of the Chief Minister and BJP leaders who are making the public life hail," he said.

“Congress will reopen its account in the Tripura Assembly in the by-elections (to fill the vacancies). Then in 2023 Congress will form the government," he added.