Agartala, June 26: The ruling Left Front’s move to downsize the 18-member council of ministers in Tripura to 12 has encountered a hurdle with the CPI, a constituent of the Front, refusing to withdraw its lone representative from the government. At a meeting of the state unit of the CPM, the leaders unanimously decided to relieve five of the party’s ministers to comply with the 97th Amendment.
Later, at a meeting of the Left Front, the CPM requested the CPI to withdraw minister for primitive group programme Manindra Reang from the cabinet. However, secretary of the CPI’s state unit Prashanta Kopali refused to accept the proposal. “We cannot comply with the request because it is a question of our existence. We have only one MLA in a House of 60 and we want him in the council,” Kopali said.
He said the state CPI’s stand was fully supported by the party’s central leadership.
“We have spoken to Nandadulal Bhattacharya, who is the observer for Tripura. A clear picture will emerge by tomorrow,” Kopali said. The Forward Bloc supported the CPI and recorded its dissent at the Left Front meeting.
The lone RSP minister, however, escaped the axe. The party has two representatives in the House.
The CPM state committee unanimously decided to relieve five cabinet ministers of their charges to downsize the ministry. They are minister for animal resource development Narayan Rupini, panchayat minister Subodh Das, industry minister Pabitra Kar, fisheries minister Sukumar Barman and urban development minister Sudhir Das.
Chief minister Manik Sarkar said the five ministers had already submitted their resignations to him.
Speaking to newspersons, CPM spokesman and editor of the party organ, Daily Desher Katha, Gautam Das said the decision to relieve five ministers was unanimous and the party was united on the issue.
“The process of downsizing is to be completed by July 6 but we have already done it,” Das said.
Asked what would be the party’s stand if the CPI refused to comply with the request, Das refused to comment. “Let us not speculate on such issues,” he said.
Das added that the reallocation of portfolios among the 12 ministers would be completed by the chief minister later.