AGARTALA:
Former Tripura health minister and ex-MLA of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sudip Roy Barman, on February 12, said that the ruling saffron party government in the state is nearing its “expiry date”.
“The expiry date of this government is a maximum of one year, and it will never return to power in Tripura. Our chief aim is to ensure BJP doesn’t get a single seat in the coming elections. This has nothing to do with power; rather, it is about the freedom of the people,” he said.
The current cabinet ministers have no administrative power as they don’t listen to other MLAs and ministers, “because of the one man’s voice”, said Barman referring to chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb.
Barman, along with Asish Kumar Saha, arrived in the state with Pradesh Congress president Birajit Sinha, former MLA Gopal Chandra Roy, and the state in-charge of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), Ajoy Kumar, after joining the Congress in New Delhi recently.
Thousands of people gathered in front of the Maharaja Bir Bikram airport to welcome both leaders.
While addressing the gathering, Barman said, “We took a historical decision to oust the Left Front government in the state. We did not realise the mistake we made, and therefore, apologised to everyone. When we joined the BJP in 2017, we had many dreams but, in the last four years, we saw that the BJP has no grammar.”
He reiterated that while he was handling the health portfolio, he strived to develop the sector, but could not due to “one man’s voice”.
“I served as a health minister for 14 months and tried to work for the people and the department, despite obstacles. My aim was to revolutionise medical treatment in the state. But I was removed as a minister,” he said, urging the BJP MLAs, who were once Congress leaders, to “return home”.