'2023 election to lay foundation stone for making a vibrant Tripura'

AGARTALA: Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik on Sunday termed the 2023 Assembly election as laying of the foundation stone for making a 'vibrant Tripura' and urged the CPI(M) and Congress workers in the state to join the mission.

Assembly elections are due in Tripura in early 2023 ''The 2018 election was like a liberation war to liberate Tripura from the Communist rule and the 2023 polls will be for laying the foundation stone of a vibrant Tripura under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi'', the senior BJP leader said at a party rally In West Tripura's Bambutia.

The BJP in 2018 defeated the CPI(M) led Left front which was in power in Tripura for 25 years.

''You will not be able to fulfil your dream by remaining attached with the Communist or Congress. You have to determine under whose hands - Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi -your future generation is safe. Come and join the saffron party to start a new beginning for your family as well as the state'', she said.

The Union Minister of State for Social Empowerment and Social Justice alleged that poor farmers could not sell their paddy during the CPI (M) rule. ''The paddy procurement has begun in the state only after the BJP came to power in 2018. This year, the state has set a target of procuring 35,000 MT paddy with Minimum Support Price (MSP) to double the farmers' income. Besides, as many as 2,500 poor farmers of Bambutia are receiving Rs 6000 each under the flagship programme - PM Kishan Samman Nidhi'', she said.

Bhoumik claimed that the saffron party doesn't believe in depriving people of their rightful rights – be it Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana or Pradhan Mantri Kishan Samman Nidhi or something else, it was the CPI(M) that had ''deprived'' the people for long years.

She also criticized the CPI(M) and Congress for maintaining a cosy relationship to rule the northeastern state for decades. ''The relationship between the two parties is like match fixing sort of thing... However, it has finally been exposed in the 2018 election leading to a much needed regime change here'', Bhoumik added.