Agartala: Manik Saha, a dental surgeon turned politician, was sworn in as Tripura Chief Minister on Wednesday for the second time at the head of a BJP-led government here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President J P Nadda, and Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Manipur – Pema Khandu, Prem Singh Tamang, and Nongthombam Biren Singh respectively – graced the mega event at the Vivekananda Stadium as Tripura Governor Satyadev Narian Araya administered the oath of office and secrecy to Saha and eight other cabinet members.
Saha had become chief minister for the first time last May after the BJP high command asked then incumbent Biplab Kumar Deb to step-down following massive opposition against him within the party.
The ministers inducted on Wednesday includes four new faces.
Four ministers in Saha’s previous cabinet – Ratan Lal Nath, Pranajit Singha Roy, Santana Chakma and Sushanta Chowdhury have been included in the new cabinet. The four new faces include three first-time MLAs Tinku Roy and Bikash Debbarma (BJP) and Shukla Charan Noatia (IPFT). The other new inductee is second-time MLA Sudhanshu Das (BJP).
“I am committed to the development of the state without any political consideration. I believe in a democracy people have the right to vote for opposition parties and the co-existence of the ruling party and opposition is the beauty of India, which led to development and prosperity. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Modiji, we shall drive Tripura into a model state,” Saha said after the day’s swearing in ceremony.
