Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched BJP’s campaign in poll-bound Tripura with a “Vijay Rath Yatra” in Agartala yesterday. Singh joined scores of supporters during the rally and then addressed a gathering where he slammed Manik Sarkar’s CPI(M) government.
Singh said the large crowd before him indicated growing disappointment of the people against Sarkar’s two-decade old rule in the state. “Seeing such a big turnout at BJP’s road show this morning, I have no doubt that the corrupt Left government is going to be thrown out in upcoming Assembly polls,” he said.
The Home Minister claimed he was surprised to see how people voted CPI(M)’s government for 25 years despite widespread poverty in the state. He said, “There are many people in Tripura who cannot even afford a bicycle for Rs. 1,000. People should look at Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand to see how BJP ushered in good governance and development.”
Singh also slammed Tripura’s deteriorating law and order situation under Manik Sarkar. He referred specifically to murders of two journalists there recently and promised a CBI probe if BJP forms a government in the state.
He also explained how north eastern states have always been given priority by BJP-led governments under first under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and now under Narendra Modi. While Vajpayee’s government had created a special Ministry for Development of North-East Region, states there have been accorded extra focus under Modi, the union minister stated.