Agartala: In a veiled attack, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Tuesday branded Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman as a “switch off leader”.
Addressing a party gathering at Udaipur, Dr Saha said, “The strength of Congress has reduced to three in the state assembly. Even then there is no unity among themselves. One of them keeps calling people night and day. His whole politics is confined to his phone. And, in the time of need, he switches off his mobile phone. He has earned the moniker of ‘switch off leader’ for his activities.”
Dr Saha was referring to Barman’s stint in BJP after being terminated from the state council of ministers. Barman was instrumental in leading a revolt against the then Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb but failed to convince the party’s top leadership. He quit the BJP leaving his followers at lurch. A majority of BJP leaders who backed Barman didn’t approve his political decision to join Congress party and shift loyalties. Barman also changed his phone number during his political transition prompting the BJP to call him “switch off leader”.
Launching a scathing attack against Barman, Dr Saha said, “Just to save his own assembly constituency, he joined forces with the communist party. The people who have worked with him and his family closely are thrown away after the purpose is fulfilled. Today, I saw a lot of new people joining him. I would suggest them to see through the past once.”
Calling the Congress MLA a liar, he said, “He keeps making different postures in front of the media to draw attention of the public. His lies are now stand exposed before everyone. From Panchayat to State level, the BJP has successfully delivered good governance. And, people of the state have acknowledged our efforts.”
It should be noted here that the war of words between Sudip Roy Barman and Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha was stirred during the recently concluded assembly session.
In his no hold barred attack, Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman hit out at Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha led government with allegations of massive corruption in various departments.
He even claimed that the OSD of Chief Minister was involved in manipulation of government contracts in lieu of pecuniary benefits. Barman also slammed Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma for gaining wealth using his position of power.
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