Nearly two months after he dominated headlines for days by making notorious statements, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb seems set to step back into the limelight.
Deb, the first BJP chief minister of Tripura, alleged on Wednesday that the previous CPI(M)-led government allegedly sought to “destroy” the youth of Bangladesh by aiding drug smuggling into that country. This is the second time in just about a week that Deb has accused the previous Manik Sarkar government of turning a blind eye to the drug trade across the border, a charge denied earlier by the CPI(M).
Sarkar "knew everything" about the smuggling of ganja and illicit pharmaceutical drugs through the India-Bangladesh border, Deb claimed.
"Sarkar acted like the blind king Dhritarashtra and turned Tripura into a den of the drug trade. It is the worst sin of all," Deb said, while inaugurating a Haj Bhavan, a lodging facility for Haj pilgrims in Agartala.
Referring to Bangladesh, Deb said it opened a bridge on the river Feni at Sabroom in South district for developing Tripura as a modern state by using Chittagong port.
"But Left rulers aided smuggling of drugs to that country and destroyed the future of their youth force. This is not the behaviour one shows to a friendly country," Deb alleged.
The Left parties praised Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in public while in reality, drugs were smuggled to destroy the youth of her country, Delhi said.
"This is their real face. Our [BJP] government is not like that. We believe in Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas," Deb said.
"No country can become developed unless it becomes crime-free and has rule of law. Former chief minister Manik Sarkar had 20 years to know this simple truth," Deb said.
Earlier on July 18, Deb had said his government had seized 20,000kg of ganja in just four months, and accused his predecessor of doing nothing to stop production of the drug in the state.
The CPI(M)—which ruled the state for 25 years before the BJP-IPFT combine came to power in March—however, denied the charge of aiding drug smuggling.
Tripura produced 1 lakh kg cannabis every year during the rule of the erstwhile Left Front government, and Dhanpur, the home constituency of Sarkar, was the area growing the highest amount of cannabis in Tripura, Deb had said during campaigning for the polls.
Police sources said ganja is produced mainly in Sipahijala and West Tripura districts and its plants have been destroyed and burnt many times in the past.
Ganja is generally smuggled to Bangladesh through the 856km-long border with the state, the sources said.
Altogether, 150 Haj pilgrims would start from Tripura for Mecca on the holy pilgrimage on Thursday. The state government has pledged to provide all support including travel and logistical help during the journey.