Priority is to provide corruption free, dynamic govt in Tripura: CM

Agartala: Newly-elected Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has said his priority was to provide a “corruption free, dynamic and transparent” government in the state, which was under the uninterrupted Left rule for 25 years.

He said his government would create an atmosphere conducive for industrialisation besides extending all help to the tribal population of the state. “After assuming office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared that it was his objective to provide a corruption free government and as a first step he had introduced demonetisation”, the BJP leader said.

“It is also our objective to provide a corruption free, dynamic and transparent government in Tripura so that the fruits of developments reach the grassroot level. We always remember that this government was formed by people”, Deb, who took oath as the chief minister on March 9, told PTI in an interview here.

Asked about the CPI-M’s allegation of post-poll violence in the state, he said, “Everyone knows what used to happen in the past after every election. I do not want to enter into any controversy. “I have asked the police to maintain peace and given them a free hand to improve the law and order situation in the state. The state is peaceful now,” he asserted.

Speaking on the unemployment problem in Tripura, the chief minister said despite the rate of literacy being more than 90 per cent in the north eastern state, unemployment was a major issue. Deb said scope of government jobs was limited in Tripura and industrialisation had not taken place.

The state government will now concentrate more on skill development so that the young can be self employed under the Centre’s ‘Startup India’, ‘Make in India’ schemes, he said. “If you look at Gujarat, less than two per cent people are unemployed there because they are self-employed and have acquired the skills,” he said.

The BJP leader said his government was also planning to develop tourism and thus create more job opportunities. Deb said his government would lay more importance to entrepreneurship, adding that it would also work on creating a conducive atmosphere for setting up industries by using local resources like rubber, pineapple, wood and bamboo.

“At present, only 72,000 people are engaged in industry in the state which is very meagre. It can be seven lakh. We will try our best to engage more people in the industry,” he said. Asked about BJP’s poll ally IPFT’s demand for a separate state carving out some areas of Tripura, the chief minister said, “There are two ministers from the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) and the tribal welfare department is also handled by one of them. Let them make an outline for the development of the tribals and I am always ready to help them”.

On whether Hindutva had prevailed in the state after 25 years of communist rule, he said, “Hindutva is not a religion, it is a culture. Culture and religion are separate and cannot be mixed up”. Dev said his government wants a good work culture in the state and would not make politically motivated transfers. The BJP and its ally IPFT had swept to power in Tripura securing a two-third majority. The BJP alone had bagged 35 seats and the IPFT captured 8 seats in the 60-member assembly.