News Analysis India

Tag: Sudip Roy Barman

  • Sudip Roy Barman, Asish Saha join Congress after quitting Tripura BJP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Sudip Roy Barman and Asish Saha, who resigned as MLAs from the Tripura Assembly and quit the BJP, joined the Congress on Tuesday.

    They joined the Congress here in the presence of former party chief Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AICC incharge of state Ajoy Kumar.

    Barman and Saha had on Monday resigned from the Tripura Assembly and the primary membership of the BJP, the ruling party in the North-eastern state where assembly election is due next year.

    Tripura Assembly Speaker Ratan Chakraborty accepted the resignation of Barman and Saha.

  • Trouble for Biplab Kumar Deb? Two Tripura BJP MLAs resign, hit out at CM

    By PTI

    AGARTALA: BJP MLAs Sudip Roy Barman and Asish Saha on Monday resigned from the Tripura assembly, and also gave up the membership of their party.

    Roy Barman and Saha met Speaker Ratan Chakraborty and handed over their resignation letters in the morning.

    “Roy Barman and Saha called on me and submitted their resignation letters. I have asked the Secretary of Tripura Legislative Assembly to examine the resignation letters. I will accept their resignations only if their letters are as per the parameters laid down in the Business of Conduct of the assembly,” Chakraborty said.

    Roy Barman told reporters at the assembly that they will travel to New Delhi and finalise the future course of action amid speculation that they might join the Congress on Tuesday.

    “I am relieved after resigning because the BJP-led government has miserably failed to live up to the expectations. Democracy has been throttled in Tripura and no one is allowed to speak,” said Roy Barman, the former health minister and a known critic of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.

    “A ‘mukhia’ (headman) and some officers are running an autocratic government in Tripura where no one is there to hear the voice of the people. Ministers are not allowed to discharge their duties independently. We will bulldoze the conspiracy to hijack democracy,” he said Roy Barman claimed the BJP-led government in the state will be reduced to minority before the next assembly elections as many MLAs are planning to leave the party “out of frustration”.

    Asked whether they will return to the Congress, he said, “Let’s see what happens in Delhi.”

    Saha, the other BJP MLA, said they have also sent letters to BJP state president Manik Saha, resigning from the primary membership of the party.

    “We will be back in Tripura on February 12,” he said.

    The ruling BJP in Tripura rubbished any threat to the Biplab Kumar Deb government, stating that the party’s leadership was well aware of the development in advance.

    “Their recent activities do not suit the party. We tried to sort out the differences with the two MLAs but they were not convinced with our efforts. As politicians, they have the right to join or leave a party. We are keeping a close watch and will do the needful,” the BJP state president said.

    Dismissing the possibility of exodus of MLAs as claimed by Roy Barman, Saha said the party’s leadership would meet soon to review the political scenario in the aftermath of the resignations of the two legislators.

    The BJP’s tally went down to 33 in the 60-member assembly with the resignation of the two MLAs.

    While BJP ally IPFT has eight MLAs, the opposition Left Front’s tally stands at 15.

    Earlier, BJP MLA Asish Das was declared disqualified by the speaker on the ground of “misconduct”, while CPI(M) MLA Ramendra Chandra Debnath of Yubarajnagar died on February 2.

  • BJP MLA hits out at own party; says no democracy in Tripura

    By PTI

    AGARTALA: In an apparent embarrassment for Tripura’s BJP government, rebel party legislator Sudip Roy Barman on Saturday claimed that there is no democracy in the state and people are suffocating.

    Barman, who was dropped as the health minister in 2019, said he would decide on his future course of action after taking the opinion of the people.

    The assembly election is due in the state in 2023.

    “There is no shred of democracy in the state. People are suffocating because democratic oxygen has exhausted,” Barman told reporters here.

    The MLA, his close associate Asish Saha and their followers are touring different parts of the state for the last few days to interact with people “who had played a key role in dethroning the CPI(M) and bring the BJP to power”, he said.

    “We have started the process of hearing the voice of the oppressed people. Their voice is choked now,” Barman said.

    Barman claimed that people were fed up with the performance of the government as their interests were not served.

    Asked about his future course of action, the said the final decision will be taken by them only after the interactions with the people are completed.

    BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said the party is closely observing Barman’s movement and proper action would be taken “when the time comes”.

    Barman had joined the BJP from the Trinamool Congress in 2017 ahead of the next year’s Assembly elections.

    A five-time MLA, Barman was earlier the leader of the opposition and president of Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee.

    He was removed as the health minister in June 2019, days after Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb warned of stern action against “enemies in the BJP”.