Denied ticket, Tripura BJP MLA resigns, files nomination as independent

AGARTALA, JAN 31 (PTI): Tripura BJP MLA

Atul Debbarma on Tuesday said he has resigned from the saffron party after being denied a ticket for the upcoming polls.

He submitted his nomination papers as an independent candidate for his home constituency Krishnapur in Khowai district.

“I have already sent my resignation letter to the Speaker of the Tripura assembly and also quit the BJP.

“I had left my lucrative job in Delhi. I could have continued service had I not contested the last assembly elections. I have been working for people of Tripura, staying away from my family who lives in Delhi,” Debbarma, a renowned doctor, said.

The BJP fielded Bikash Debbarma, a local tribal leader, for the Krishnapur assembly constituency.

Expressing anger, the doctor-turned-politician also claimed that the party has not “shown any courtesy” to him and it did not say “why I was not considered” for the seat.

“That’s why I filed my nomination paper to contest from Krishnapur constituency as an independent candidate,” he said.

BJP’s Doctors’ Cell incharge Tamojit Nath from North Tripura’s Dharmanagar, and many leaders have quit the party after they did not find their names on the list of nominees for the February 16 assembly elections.

Bikash Reang, a BJP tribal leader, also submitted a nomination from Julaibari in South Tripura district as an independent candidate as the saffron party’s ally IPFT fielded its nominee.

BJP state committee member Ranjan Sinha, an aspiring candidate for the Chandipur assembly seat in Unakoti district left the party as state general secretary Tinku Roy was given a ticket.

Meanwhile, 228 candidates, including Chief Minister Manik Saha, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma, Pradesh Congress president Birajit Sinha and Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman, submitted their nomination papers for the ensuing assembly elections on Monday, a poll official.

Earlier, 77 aspirants filed their nomination papers. “As many as 228 candidates of different political parties have submitted their nominations before the returning officers on Monday, the last day of filing nomination papers. The entire process was peaceful and no complaint was received,” Chief Electoral Officer Gitte Kirankumar Dinnakarrao said.

The last date for withdrawal of nomination is February 2.

Arunachal govt’s priority is to uplift rural economy: Khandu

ITANAGAR,

Jan

31

(PTI): Arunachal Pradesh

Chief Minister Pema Khandu has said that his government’s priority is to uplift the rural economy and the administration is promoting self-help groups (SHGs) through a livelihood mission, an official statement said on Tuesday.

Khandu, on a two-day visit to Kra Daadi district, laid foundation stones for several important projects at Palin and Chambang on Monday.

“If villages are developed, a constituency, district, state and the country will develop,” he said in a public meeting.

He also urged officials of the district to dovetail state and central government schemes at a planning stage so that development activities can be undertaken holistically.

Khandu, after laying the foundation stone for a district secretariat and various projects at Palin, assured officials of enough funds for the execution of all projects in a time-bound manner and insisted that work quality should not be compromised at any cost, the statement said.

“I assure you of accelerated development, but for any development to take place, there should be a conducive atmosphere. This can be created only with the cooperation of people,” he said at the public meeting.

Speaking on developmental works undertaken by his government with the support of the Centre, Khandu said the main hurdle – road connectivity – has been mostly resolved in Kra-Daadi and Kurung Kumey districts.

He also expressed satisfaction over the progress of the Trans Arunachal Highway stretch, connecting both districts with the rest of the state.

“Earlier, it used to take up to eight hours to reach Itanagar from Palin, today it is a matter of about 4 to 5 hours,” he said.

The CM also claimed that the lack of road connectivity and other basic facilities in villages of the Kra-Daadi district in the past resulted in the migration of rural folks to places like Ziro and Itanagar.

“Things are changing rapidly. I am happy to note that people settled in the state capital have started building homes in their native places and I am sure reverse migration is on the rise,” Khandu said.

The chief minister laid the foundations for a district secretariat and various other projects to be executed by several government departments at the Kra-Daadi district head - quarters. He appreciated the layout plan for the new extension of the district headquarters, prepared by the Urban Development and Housing department, which will be located 5 km away from the present township and spread over an area of 1.27 sq km.

The chief minister handed over a sanction order worth Rs 8 crore to the Kra-Daadi deputy commissioner to mitigate the material damages caused by a cloudburst in Yangte, Tali and Pipsorang circles on September 28 last year.

He also gave cheques worth Rs 2.47 crore as loans to 123 SHGs of the district.

Khandu also appreciated a campaign by SBI and Arunachal State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ArSRLM) for loans during a credit camp organised alongside the public meeting.

The CM, later in the day, travelled to Chambang from Palin, where he laid the foundation stone for an inspection bungalow and made several announcements, which include the upgradation of the circle (established in 1982) to SDO/ADC administration, a police outpost and a power sub-division.

Fulfilling one of his earlier assurances, he handed over a copy of the approval to the district administration for the establishment of an RWD sub-division at Chambang.

Incidentally, Khandu became the third chief minister to reach Chambang after former CMs Gegong Apang and Late Dorjee Khandu.