THE winter session of the Tripura Assembly commenced on January 10, 2025. When the BAC report was placed in the House, informing members that the session would have only three working days, Jitendra Chaudhury, the Leader of the Opposition, stood up in protest. He remarked that the Parliament and state Assemblies are integral to the democratic system of governance. However, the ruling BJP has been consistently reducing the number of working days, shortening the length of sessions, and wasting the limited time available by creating superficial controversies to suppress the voice of the opposition. He expressed his doubt about whether the treasury bench had even the minimum regard for democracy and the Constitution.

Chaudhury emphasized that apart from reviewing the functioning of over 50 government departments, several urgent issues, such as the devastating flood in August and its aftermath, the filling of government vacancies, rising prices, escalating unemployment, flourishing ganja trafficking, and the deteriorating law and order situation, warranted thorough discussion in the Assembly. "It is unfortunate that the people who elected us to address their concerns and devise relief measures are being utterly frustrated," he lamented.

Presenting statistics, Jitendra Chaudhury highlighted that the current Assembly has sat for only 21 days, including the ongoing session, over the past two years. He pointed out that more than 21 bills had been passed without providing the opposition any opportunity to debate them. In contrast, during the Left Front regime, the Assembly held sessions for a total of 198 days over a five-year tenure. Under the BJP regime, however, the preceding 12th Assembly met for only 43 days in five years. Chaudhury urged the Speaker to extend the current session to allow elected members to fulfill their parliamentary duties.

As expected, the Leader of the House did not respond to the Opposition Leader's plea. This unyielding attitude of the government prompted the opposition members to come down to the well of the House in protest.

FLOOD RELIEF SCUTTLED

CPI(M) legislator Shyamal Chakraborty moved a private member resolution demanding a rational and adequate quantum of relief for the people affected by the August 2024 floods. While presenting the resolution, he informed the House that 38 people had lost their lives, nearly half the state’s population had been affected, 68,000 houses were damaged, and approximately two lakh people were forced to take refuge in 82 camps. The losses in agriculture were incalculable, and numerous roads and bridges had been washed away. The government’s preliminary estimate of the total damage stood at Rs 15,000 crore. At an all-party meeting, all opposition parties had unanimously demanded that the flood be declared a national calamity, a demand the Centre has yet to concede. The Centre reportedly released Rs 65 crore to the NDRF and SDRF for rescue operations. Although the chief minister announced a relief package of Rs 564 crore, hardly any victims, except the families of those who lost their lives, have received the relief.

Rising in support of the resolution, several CPI(M) and Congress legislators alleged political discrimination in the distribution of preliminary relief. When the Leader of the Opposition stood up to share his observations on this issue, his microphone was muted, enraging the entire opposition bloc. Finally, the chief minister informed the House that a memorandum had been sent to the Centre seeking Rs 7,081 crore for flood relief.

ON FILLING UP OF VACANCIES

CPI(M) MLA Nayan Sarkar moved a resolution demanding a special drive for the immediate filling of all vacant posts in various government departments. While Congress legislators supported the resolution, the treasury bench, including Tipra Motha MLAs, vehemently opposed it with irrelevant and unsupported data. In raising the resolution, Nayan Sarkar referred to the BJP’s 2018 election manifesto, the ‘Vision Document,’ in which the party had promised to recruit at least 50,000 government employees annually. They had also publicly enticed youth by asking them to give a missed call to a specific phone number to be included in a priority list of job seekers. However, according to an official Assembly statement, during the seven years of their regime, only 13,654 regular jobs were created. Meanwhile, over 70,000 employees retired during this period. In their drive to downsize the administration, most of the posts vacated by retired employees were either abolished or replaced with outsourced and contractual workers.

Describing the severe unemployment problem in the state, CPI(M) MLAs Nayan Sarkar and Nirmal Biswas highlighted that most government departments, including government schools, are struggling due to a shortage of staff. On the other hand, more than 7 lakh educated unemployed youth in a state with a population of 40 lakh have become a burden rather than an asset due to the lack of job opportunities. This includes doctors, engineers, and paramedics. A large and disillusioned section of the young generation has turned to drug addiction. Meanwhile, critical services in hospitals, schools, and powerhouses are being severely impacted. Although the resolution was defeated by numbers when tabled for a vote, it exposed the government’s anti-youth stance and lack of commitment to addressing unemployment.

CRUCIAL QUESTIONS AVERTED

Many genuine questions related to public interest, submitted by Jitendra Chaudhury, the Leader of the Opposition, were rejected by the Speaker. At a press meet, Jitendra Chaudhury strongly protested against the disallowance of these questions, calling the reasons given flimsy and unjustified. He highlighted several important questions that were denied answers by the government:

The details of the tripartite agreement signed on March 3, 2024 among the Union government, the state government, and Tipra Motha. What progress has been made in the time-bound implementation of this agreement? What schemes have been introduced for the all-round development of tribal communities, and how far have they been implemented? Was there an assurance in the agreement to empower the TTAADC and to include Kokborok in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution?

The number of recruitments made in various government departments over the last three years, along with a department- and category-wise statement.

The number of vacancies currently existing in various government departments. Does the government plan to fill these vacancies in the current financial year? If not, what are the reasons for not filling them?

Whether the state government has sent a proposal to the central government to increase MGNREGA man-days to 200 days and enhance the wage to Rs 340, as promised by the BJP in its 2018 manifesto.

In addition to these, other questions pertained to year-wise expenditure on MGNREGA, the number of man-days created, and the number of government appointments under the die-in-harness rule, among other issues.

Jitendra Chaudhury asserted that it has become a trend in recent Assembly sessions to summarily reject any questions that could potentially embarrass the government, even when such questions are of significant public interest.

HIKE OF MLAs SALARIES

The amendment to the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers, MLAs, and the pension of former MLAs Act was tabled in the House by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, proposing a substantial increase – nearly double the current pay structure. Initiating the discussion on the proposed bill, Jitendra Chaudhury stated that a large section of the state’s population is facing financial hardships. The devastating floods had severely impacted the livelihoods of nearly half the population. Meanwhile, 25 per cent of arrear DA for government employees has been pending for a long time due to a fund crunch. Thousands of DRWs, part-time workers, and contractual workers remain unregularised because of a lack of funds. Additionally, MGNREGA and TUEP works have been drastically curtailed, and many rural workers are still awaiting wages for work completed months ago.

In such a situation, Chaudhury argued, it is inappropriate and insensitive for the Assembly to increase its own salaries. He suggested deferring the bill for consideration at a later date. However, his proposal was ignored, and the bill was passed through a voice vote.