Agartala: Heated arguments rocked Tripura Assembly on the last day of the four-day long budget session after CPI(M) MLA Dipankar Sen raised corruption charges against BJP MLA Ratan Chakraborty.
According to Sen, Chakraborty, who is the chairman of Rogi Kalyan Samiti (Patients Welfare Society) of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Regional Cancer Institute, took advantage of his post to misappropriate funds.
The CPI(M) lawmaker claimed that Chakraborty withdrew an amount of Rs 76,000 for his own use, which could be seen as an act of enjoying undue privilege.
The point of clarification raised by the CPI(M) MLA related to his reference period notice on the functioning of the hospital drew flak from the treasury bench as Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that this was not at all related to the reference notice.
MLA Ratan Chakraborty also responded to the allegations before the Chief Minister’s speech and said, “The withdrawal of the money took place following all the legal procedures and after a unanimous decision of the society. The way this issue is being interpreted here is an attempt to mislead the House and create a bad impression about the healthcare facility that is nothing less than a centre of excellence for us. Several patients from Bangladesh and neighboring states arrive here to take treatment.”
Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha also threw his weight behind Chakraborty and said that the matter had been made clear. He also assured the opposition that he would look into the matter.
Earlier, CPI(M) legislator Jitendra Choudhury drew the attention of the House to a press conference addressed by MLA Bhagaban Das where he denied the order for crime branch inquiry in connection with the alleged land acquisition scam of Notingcherra tea garden located in Unakoti District.
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Choudhury said, “I believe the Chief Minister will make us aware of the situation. A day after the leader of the House informed us that an inquiry had been ordered in connection with the case, an MLA rejected the CM’s statement and said that the investigation has nothing to do with his letter to the Additional District Magistrate for de-freezing a bank account.”
That question too irked the treasury bench as several senior members stood up and interrupted him from speaking. The Chief Minister, however, assured the opposition that whatever he had said earlier in the House was cent percent correct and the Additional District Magistrate, who had allowed the bank account in question to be accessed, was suspended for the impartial investigation.
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