0 Comment(s) *
* The moderation of comments is automated and not cleared manually by indianexpress.com.
Jishnu Devvarma takes oath of office, continuing as Deputy Chief Minister at Raj Bhawan today.A day after Manik Saha was sworn in as the 11th Chief Minister of Tripura, Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya on Monday administered the oath of office and secrecy to 11 legislators at the Raj Bhawan. Two new faces, Rampada Jamatia and Prem Kumar Reang, were inducted into the Cabinet while Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) leader Mevar Kumar Jamatia was dropped.
While observers were apprehending more changes in the Cabinet – especially after Minister for Fire Services and Cooperatives Ramprasad Paul publicly voiced dissent saying he would not continue in the BJP – Saha has mostly kept the Biplab Deb Cabinet intact.
Other members in the Cabinet include Jishnu Devvarma, who continues as Deputy Chief Minister, BJP’s Tripura ally IPFT’s supremo Narendra Chandra Debbarma, Ratan Lal Nath, Pranajit Singha Roy, Manoj Kanti Deb, Santana Chakma, Ram Prasad Paul, Bhagaban Chandra Das and Sushanta Chowdhury.
Tripura has a 12-member cabinet. When the BJP-led government assumed office in 2018, the then chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb filled up nine berths. A year later, Sudip Roy Barman, who held the health portfolio, was dropped from the Cabinet purportedly due to his differences with the chief minister. Three years later, three new faces were inducted – Ramprasad Paul, Bhagaban Das and Sushanta Chowdhury.
Best of Express Premium
The removal of Mevar Kumar Jamatia, who was tribal affairs minister, came after the IPFT leader landed in a conflict with party chief Debbarma when he declared himself the president of the tribal party and relegated Debbarma to the party’s advisory panel chief. Debbarma (84) shot back soon after saying Mevar committed anti-party activities and would be punished according to party guidelines.
Instead, Prem Kumar Reang, known to be a Debbarma loyalist, was sworn in as a first-time minister. Both new faces in the Manik Saha cabinet are tribal leaders, indicating the significance attributed to the community by the government ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters after the swearing-in ceremony, new minister Rampada Jamatia said the reshuffle would not sully the prospects of the party, but would improve it. In an oblique reference to his party’s stand against the demand for separate statehood, Jamatia said development would happen if everyone remained together.
Reang stressed on education and supply of drinking water as his priorities. He said that with less than a year to go before the next polls, he would try to fulfill any responsibility given to him as a minister.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
