Agartala, May 25, 2023, By Our Correspondent
At a time when the state BJP is facing serious internal issues, factional bickering Tinku Roy, the newly appointed Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Social Welfare, and Social Education, faces a very disturbing development as Ranjan Sinha, former 'Mandal' president of BJP in Chandipur, Kailasahar, and later a candidate for 'Tipra Motha' in the last assembly election, has accused him of filing a ‘false affidavit’ regarding his educational qualifications and hiding a criminal case against him during the nomination process.
According to Sinha, his allegations are based on the responses received through a Right to Information (RTI) query and copies of the First Information Report (FIR) filed with the West Agartala police station. Sinha claims that Roy, in his affidavit filed along with the nomination form as per Rule 33 of the Representation of Peoples Act, stated that he passed the HS (+2) examination in 2004 from the fictitious 'Board of Secondary Education Madhya Bharat Gwalior.'
Sinha clarified, "The information provided by Roy is entirely false and baseless. Government records of Madhya Pradesh and the Ministry of Education of the Government of India confirm that no board by the name of 'Board of Secondary Education Madhya Bharat Gwalior' exists."
He further revealed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had initiated two cases based on the direction of the Allahabad High Court, which established that the alleged 'Board of Secondary Education Madhya Bharat Gwalior' was fraudulent and lacked the authority to issue certificates or commendations. The CBI's Superintendent of Police (Dehradun) had written a letter to the Assam Chief Secretary on July 9, 2019, urging action against individuals who presented certificates issued by the Gwalior Board, as they were proven to be fake and unauthorized. Roy had submitted similar certificates while filing his nomination and affidavit.
Sinha also revealed that he had brought this matter to the attention of the Election Commission before the previous assembly elections, requesting the cancellation of Roy's nomination. However, no action was taken at the time.
In addition to the educational qualification discrepancy, Sinha highlighted that Roy had concealed the fact that an FIR was filed against him under sections 147, 148, 427, 380, 436, and 326 at the West Agartala police station. The FIR was lodged by Anal Roychowdhury, the editor-owner of the daily newspaper 'Pratibadi Kalam,' on September 8, 2021. The incident occurred when Roy, allegedly accompanied by other BJP leaders allegedly vandalized and ransacked the newspaper's office. According to election laws, this information should have been disclosed in the nomination papers and notified through three daily newspapers and TV channels.
"I demand that the Speaker and the Election Commission promptly address this matter and annul Tinku Roy's election from the Chandipur (No-52) constituency. Moreover, I call for criminal proceedings to be initiated against him," asserted Ranjan Sinha.