The Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) took a strong stance on Tuesday against the Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha’s announcement of a Rs 564 crore relief package, which was declared on the last day of the monsoon assembly session.
The TPCC termed the relief package “illegal,” accusing the Chief Minister of bypassing established procedures.
During a press conference held at the Congress Bhavan in Agartala, Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman criticized the Chief Minister for allegedly bypassing the council of ministers while announcing the relief package.
Barman claimed, “Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha disregarded the council of ministers when he announced the Rs 564 crore relief package for Tripura’s flood victims.”
Elaborating on the sequence of events, Barman stated, “The Chief Minister went to Delhi on September 4, even as the assembly session had already begun.
He returned the following day on September 5 and participated in the assembly session that continued until 9:30 PM.
The next day, without holding a cabinet meeting, he announced the Rs 564 crore relief package.”
Barman claimed that the Chief Minister had not convened any cabinet meeting prior to the announcement and had made the decision solely based on the advice of the Chief Secretary, effectively sidelining the council of ministers.
Barman further alleged, “The Chief Minister’s declaration of the relief package is illegal. Any sanctioning of funds or the diversion of funds from one subhead to another requires the consent of the council of ministers. By making this announcement unilaterally, the Chief Minister bypassed the required procedures.”
The Congress MLA urged the council of ministers to demand an explanation from the Chief Minister regarding the relief package.
Expressing his dissatisfaction with the relief measures, Barman remarked, “The Rs 564 crore package is not sufficient to provide adequate assistance to the flood-affected people. While the package aims at rebuilding the infrastructure of various departments damaged by the floods, our priority should have been to provide immediate relief to those directly affected, including farmers who have suffered significant losses.”
Continuing his criticism, Barman condemned the government for its failure to declare the devastating flood in Tripura a “National Calamity” and for not securing a special relief package from the Central government. He pointed out that, so far, the Central government has not released any specific relief funds for the flood victims of Tripura.
Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement of Rs 40 crore as an advance to the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), Barman argued, “The Rs 40 crore declared by Amit Shah is merely an advance payment to the SDRF, which is part of the routine annual allocation from the Centre.”
Barman concluded by accusing the Chief Minister of making the hasty announcement of the Rs 564 crore package to cover up the government’s shortcomings. “In an attempt to hide the government’s failures, the Chief Minister hastily announced this package illegally, without consulting the council of ministers,” he said.
(Tripura, Tripura News)
