THE opening day of the first budget session of the second BJP-IPFT alliance government witnessed a disorderly scene immediately after the session began. CPI(M), Congress, and Tipra Motha MLAs jointly demanded punitive measures against Jadav Lal Nath, the BJP MLA from the 55-Bagpassa constituency, who, in the last assembly session, was caught using pornographic items on his mobile phone while the proceedings of the house were in progress. This scene was captured by some of the house staff and uploaded on social media, where the post instantly went viral. The entire opposition unitedly protested against the vulgar act of the BJP MLA, which lowered the dignity of the house.

The law minister (parliamentary affairs), Ratan Lal Nath, tried to pacify the aggrieved opposition by proposing to send the matter to the 'Ethics Committee.' However, that was outrightly rejected by the opposition since the accused himself had admitted to the matter. The opposition, in an attempt to end the impasse, suggested that at least a motion of condemnation should be passed in the house. But that was also disallowed by the speaker, leading to an escalation of the protest by the opposition. Lastly, the speaker expelled four opposition MLAs, three from Tipra Motha and one from CPI(M), for the remaining days of the session. However, within half an hour, the speaker came back to his senses and withdrew their suspension. Sudip Roy Barman, the Congress MLA, was suspended for the entire session, according to the speaker, for uttering objectionable words during the pandemonium in the house.

Sudip Sarkar, a CPI(M) MLA, moved a private members resolution in the second session of the day, proposing that "Tripura Assembly proposes to give passage to the 125th Constitution Amendment Bill - 2019 for all-round development of the state and for further empowerment of the TTAADC both administratively and financially." During the discussion on this resolution, the ruling BJP tried to sideline the issue, citing the excuse of the pending said bill in Lok Sabha. Exposing the crocodile tears of the ruling BJP leaders for tribals, Jitendra Chowdhury said that the 125th Constitution Amendment bill was placed in the Rajya Sabha on February 6, 2019. Following a brief discussion, it was sent to the select committee, which submitted its report on March 5, 2020.  From then, it has been pending. The central government did not feel any urge to pass the bill in the parliament till today. It is an intentional delay to deny higher autonomy to various autonomous bodies of the North Eastern states, which are languishing due to the lack of administrative power and financial resources, said Jitendra Chowdhury. He informed that the BJP placed many draconian bills in the parliament in the first session of the day and got these passed in the second session without any discussion, only by means of brute majority. But why such an important bill related to the higher autonomy of the tribals of the North East region is kept pending for several years is very much explicit to us. The main reason behind this is BJP's basic stand against the autonomy of tribals of the country, for whom they shed crocodile tears for electoral benefit. The so-called motto of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' propagated by the BJP proved to be a hoax on this issue.

Negotiating with the dogged stand of the treasury bench which did not want to pass the resolution, Jitendra Chowdhury proposed to send an all-party delegation to the union home ministry to press for the demand. Then, the parliamentary minister, Ratan Lal Nath, audaciously claimed that the demand for an all-party delegation may be accepted only if that delegation does not comprise any member of the CPI(M) and Congress. In response, Jitendra Chowdhury retorted, stating that perhaps Nath did not swear in the name of the constitution of the country. The BJP's diehard opposition to the resolution exposed their fake love for tribals.

DOWNSIZED BUDGET
On July 7, Finance Minister Pranjit Singharoy presented the budget of Rs 27,654.77 crore for 2023-24 in the house. This allocation includes Rs 1723 crore that the government could not utilise and left unspent during last year's allocation. The budget allocation is only 2.8 per cent bigger than that of the preceding year, which was Rs 26,892 crore. However, considering spiraling inflation, scorching price-rise, and the Rs 1723 crore carried forward from last year's allocation, the actual budget allocation has declined this year.

Tripura's budget has laid down a Rs 3,778.62 crore deficit, which is 4.4 per cent of Rs 84,653 crore of the assessed GSDP of the year. The government has resorted to another jugglery with GSDP. While the national GDP rate is 7.7 per cent, it is questionable how the GSDP of a crisis-ridden state like Tripura, devoid of any viable manufacturing unit, could attain 8.8 per cent in 2022-23, surpassing the national GDP rate. On the other hand, in the current year (2023-24), the government assessed the GSDP would come down to 6.2 per cent. The government has no clarification on this fluctuation of GSDP.

In 2018, the outgoing Left Front government left a total public debt of Rs 12,903 crore accumulated in 68 years, including 33 years of Congress regime. Within five years of BJP regime, the state's debt amount has now inflated almost double to Rs 24,832 crore in 2023. In the present budget, the government has to earmark Rs 918.25 crore (3.31 per cent) of the total budget provision as interest on the public loan. Astonishingly, apart from releasing advertisements in the newspaper and displaying countless boards and cutouts of central and state ministers, including that of the prime minister, round the year, the people of Tripura hardly find any infrastructural development or creation of any permanent asset by the government.

Similar to the fraudulent election manifesto in the name of the 'Vision Document' in 2018, this budget proposed 13 ‘charismatic’ schemes to allure the people. However, there is no explanation in the budget on how resources could be mobilised to implement these schemes.

During the budget discussion, the CPI(M) legislators steadfastly highlighted the following issues: TTAADC has been languishing due to the lack of funds, leading to delays in paying salaries to ADC employees. The election to village committees (matching body of gram panchayat outside ADC areas) in ADC areas is pending since 2020, with no excuse other than bleak poll prospects for the ruling BJP. The absence of elected village committees has badly impaired the functioning in ADC villages. Additionally, the state government employees are owed 22 per cent DA, village roads are gradually becoming un-pliable, and numerous positions in various government offices and schools remain vacant, severely affecting their functions. The decline in MGNREGA man-days has further exacerbated the financial hardship faced by the poorer sections in both hills and plains, who are struggling for food and work. Outbreaks of water-borne diseases like cholera and gastroenteritis in various hilly areas are occurring without proper medical assistance. Moreover, the provision of free ration to poorer families, introduced during the Covid period, has been stopped. As a result, lakhs of unemployed youths are feeling despondent about their future prospects.

When asked about how all these crises would be addressed by this budget, the finance minister informed that the government would focus on revenue mobilisation, indicating potential further taxation on the people of Tripura.

Congress MLA Birajit Sinha, with startling documentary evidence, exposed inside the assembly house a secret connivance of the ruling BJP MLA Bhagaban Das with a chit fund agent. The BJP MLA misused his position as an MLA and recommended to the Addl. District Magistrate, Unakoti district, on May 27, 2021, to unfreeze a chit fund account in the name of Sunshine Tea Processing Company. This account had been frozen by the small savings department, along with many other accounts, when the chit fund scam was first unearthed during the Left Front regime. Following the recommendation of the ruling party MLA, the district authority made this account operative.

Immediately after the account was made operative, a substantial amount of Rs 58,28,520  was transferred to the account as the cost of land of Notingcherra, the tea estate acquired by the National Highway Department for road widening. The tea estate owner cum chit fund agent did not waste time to withdraw the entire amount, including the amount deposited earlier, treating it as chit fund.

In reply, the chief minister admitted the scam in the house and informed that the alleged Addl. District Magistrate has been suspended, and the crime branch of the police department has been asked to investigate the case. When asked whether Bhagan Das, who had evidently connived with the chit fund agent, has been interrogated in this case, the chief minister had no answer. Bhagan Das, though present inside the house, did not attempt to defend himself.

THE SHAM OF ‘SUSHASHAN’

The shocking law and order situation in the so-called 'Sushashan' under the BJP government has been exposed by the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau), a central government agency, which is substantiated by the replies of the chief minister to various questions of the members on law and order. On the last day of the session, CPI(M) legislative leader Jitendra Chowdhury, while discussing the cut-motion on the budget, cited the 69th report of the NCRB published on June 29, 2023. Retorting to the so-called slogan of the BJP leaders 'Ek Tripura, Shrestha Tripura' (Integrated and Best Tripura), Jitendra Chowdhury said that competing with bigger states like Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, etc., Tripura, with a population of about 40 lakhs, though not at the top, is now fifth in the average of crime parameters. According to the NCRB report, Tripura ranks top in drug trafficking, second in murder, seventh in rape and kidnapping, and eighth in crime against teens.

In a reply to Jitendra Chowdhury's question, the chief minister informed a startling fact in the house that during 1st November 2021 and 31st May 2023, the number of missing women and teenage girls in the state is 1817, among which 1560 have been rescued, and 257 are still missing.

However, these records are based on the data provided by the police stations. Many crimes, such as arson, vandalising of houses and shops, destruction of vehicles, rubber plantations, extortion of huge funds, and physical torture perpetrated upon the opposition party followers by the ruling BJP, go unreported as the police authorities often prevent such crimes from being registered. In other cases, victims do not want to record complaints, fearing further attacks. If all these crimes were registered in the police stations, Tripura would have topped the country in all crime parameters.

This assembly session primarily exposed that the ruling BJP has no concern for maintaining the dignity of the assembly or supporting the socio-economic upliftment of the tribals with higher autonomy. It has also proven to be inept in fiscal management, callous in addressing the basic problems of the poorer sections, and shamefully, has converted the state into a haven of criminals.