Bhagaban Das is now a Minister in Tripura. In an interview with this blogger for RSS-run ‘Organiser’, earlier this year – Bhagaban Das had flayed the communists and said the “Leftists disinformation campaign against BJP in Tripura will not succeed” .
Kumarghat (Tripura) : The gross disinformation campaign against the BJP-led coalition government in Tripura by the Leftists and Left liberals will not succeed, said BJP legislator Bhagaban Das.
He also maintained that the saffron party would need to reach out to all sections of people in a more concrete and systematic manner to break the ‘destructive’ pro-Communists mindset prevalent in the state due to long 25 years of Leftists’ control of the state till 2018.
“The BJP-IPFT coalition government in Tripura is a victim of systemic Leftists’ campaign but such measures will not succeed as the pro-people welfare works will speak for themselves and finally convince the common masses,” Bhagaban Das told this reporter in a brief interview.
The legislator maintained that- “A vested interest is in full time work in the state to discredit Biplab Deb ministry. They are banking on social media like Whatsapp and there is a pattern as these individuals and groups would always prevent good works getting publicity”.
“A new pattern is that in any informal gathering and tea stalls etc, people will start talking ill of the government. A few others with the same Leftist mindset would join the discussion as part of pre planning. This conspiracy is sinister in design,” he said.
There is no discussion in the state that the Modi government in the centre and the Tripura government in coordination provided 5 kilo rice to poor families during lockdown last summer (2020) for several months, Bhagaban Das said.
Das, known for being close to the Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, asserted that while complex issues like ‘dismissed teachers agitation’ is discussed repeatedly they will never talk about welfare measures like housing, major road projects and cleanliness drive.
“The Left liberals have completely forgotten that 10, 323 teachers lost their job following a court order and that was due to faulty and politically motivated recruitment policy of the then Left Front government of Manik Sarkar,” he said.
“…you often see selected debates on national issues directed mostly against the Modi government, there is a growing pattern just to defame Biplab Deb Ministry by hook or crook”.
Dismissed teachers’ stir was started in December 2020 and state BJP leaders have described it as a full fledged work of the Communist leaders.
The agitating teachers and police clashed on Jan 27 (2021) and cops have said like Delhi police they also applied restraints otherwise things could have turned worse.
Several police and ‘dismissed teachers’ were injured after the protesting group violated restrictions imposed under 144 CrPC. Another teacher Kalyan Das also died.
Local BJP leaders like state saffron party spokesman Subrata Chakrabarty have said the agitation was part of a misguided move and being instigated by the Leftists.
It is claimed by certain quarters that several former teachers have committed suicides following depression. But BJP leaders say there is often concoction of facts.
A few suicides due to marital disputes and extra marital affairs have been linked to dismissal of teachers who lost jobs due to faulty recruitment policy and alleged “malpractice” followed by the Marxist leaders.
State legislator Das pointed out that the BJP-led government had given Rs 35,000 each to over 8000 teachers for some time who lost their job in March 2020. “This generosity is never mentioned”.
Moreover, alternative jobs were assured provided they appeared for mandatory tests.
But the dismissed teachers mostly did not want to appear for any test.
Das says here lies the real catch as – “Most beneficiaries were either Left supporters or from family members of Leftist leaders. There was major lacuna in the recruitment process and many of these reluctant former teachers know they will be exposed in any kind of examination”.
According to reports, at least 1357 teachers have already got alternate jobs but no government worth its salt can actually help hundreds of those who “probably do not show confidence in appearing for exams again”.
(Some parts of the news story carried in Organiser carried on Feb 5, 2021)
