Biplab Deb resigns as Tripura CM; TMC says 'change is inevitable'

Kolkata: In a surprise move, Biplab Kumar Deb, on Saturday, resigned as the Chief Minister of Tripura and the BJP made Rajya Sabha MP Manik Saha the new CM of the state. Reacting to the new appointment, Trinamool Congress (TMC) said that PM Modi's "Hira fails and a lessor Manik returns".

"Shri@narendramodi promised Tripura a freedom from the "Manik era" by hurling in a "Hira". And now he has replaced one Manik with another! Clearly @BJP4Tripura's box of jewels is running out. The "Hira" falls, a lesser "Manik" returns!" tweeted Trinamool Congress. The party also said that "change was inevitable" and people of Tripura wanted an alternative now.

Saha, BJP's state president, was elected the legislature party leader at a meeting at the chief minister's official residence soon after a crestfallen Deb tendered his resignation to Governor S N Arya.

As Deb proposed the 69-year-old Saha's name in the meeting, minister Ram Prasad Paul protested, which led to a scuffle among MLAs. Paul also broke a few chairs before the situation calmed, sources said. Paul wanted deputy chief minister Jishnu Dev Varma, a member of the erstwhile Tripura royal family, as the next chief minister of the state, they said.

Stating that Tripura under BJP was heading towards darker days, Trinamool tweeted: "Hooliganism at best! From Ram Prasad Pal to several other @BJP4Tripura MLAs, Ministers and leaders — breaking into chaos after @BJPBiplab's resignation proves once again that the state, under BJP, is headed to its darkest times! #ShameOnBJP."

Deb resigned a day after meeting Union Home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda in New Delhi. "Party is above all. I am a loyal worker of the BJP. I hope I have done justice to the responsibilities that were given to me. I have worked for the overall development of Tripura, and to ensure peace for the people of the state," Deb said after resigning.

Months ahead of the state Assembly elections in 2023, the move assumes significance as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is looking to spread its footprint in the north-eastern state.

Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC all-India national general secretary, during his one-day visit to the state recently had stated that TMC would leave "no stone unturned to dislodge the inefficient BJP government from Tripura".

Meanwhile, TMC Tripura in-charge Rajib Banerjee said the people of the state have decided to vote out the BJP government and cast their franchise for choosing an "alternative who is none other than Mamata Banerjee."

"BJP has lost its organisation in Tripura with the TMC making inroads. So they are desperately trying damage control by removing their Chief Minister (Biplab Deb). But the people of Tripura have decided to show BJP the exit door in the next Assembly elections and vote for Mamata Banerjee for real development," Banerjee said.

According to him, the Tripura government under the leadership of Biplab Deb failed on all fronts. "Democracy has been at stake with total deterioration of law and order. There have been neither industries nor jobs. The development promised by the BJP has proved to be a far cry and they have only tried to dissuade people through false promises," he said.

In the 2021 Tripura local elections, Trinamool Congress had increased its vote share to 26 per cent by campaigning for three months only. "Why should Tripura not have the same development as Bengal? Why should there not be schemes like Swasthya Sathi and Lakshmir Bhandar?" questioned TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh.

The official Twitter handle of TMC read: "Goodbye & good riddance to the CM who failed thousands of people in #Tripura! Enough damage done. So much so that even the top bosses at @BJP4India are fed up of his INCOMPETENCE. Folks at BJP seem very rattled by what @AITCofficial achieved in the state. CHANGE IS INEVITABLE."