Q What made you so tough as a politician?
A I was part of the National Cadet Corps. I was chosen as the best cadet in Tripura. I received special training from the Army, and I wanted to join the military. But my family did not allow it.
When I go to police functions, the officers are surprised to see me properly saluting them back. I tell them that it has given me the power to lead.
Q What made you fight the CPI(M) as a medical practitioner?
A I was part of a doctors’ organisation affiliated to the Congress. The CPI(M) wanted me to join their organisation and take up bigger responsibilities. But I told them politely that my ideology was different. I belonged to a business family and was affluent. I could not accept communists because of their destructive politics.
Q Why were you anti-communist since childhood?
A I saw the worst side of the leftist ideology. They were all about bombing schools and breaking Rabindranath Tagore’s statue. It was horrific for an educated and middle-class family like us. Then our factories were shut down. There was very good relations between Bengali businessmen and workers. The communists destroyed it.
Q What difference did you see in the BJP?
A I applied my NCC discipline to party work. From being panna pramukh to state president of the BJP, I played all roles. I was also given charge of the BJP’s membership drive in Tripura. The number of BJP members rose from 1.6 lakh to six lakh.
Q Why did you not contest the 2018 polls?
A That is a very interesting story. The central leadership asked me to get the papers ready for contesting polls. I told them that I was a novice who had never contested an election, but they insisted that I run. But later, I was dropped suddenly. It was awkward for me; I told them that I had lost face. They said it happened in politics. I was upset then, but today when I distribute tickets, I understand why such things happen.
Q After Bidhan Chandra Roy, you are the second Bengali medical practitioner to become chief minister.
A Yes, my partymen told me that. But I asked them not to highlight it. A comparison with a national icon like Dr Roy is meaningless.
I need to be down to earth. I saw money in my childhood, but when I saw dead bodies during Covid, I realised that money was a mirage not worth chasing. I am not saying money is unimportant, just that it is not everything in life.
Q Your government is nearly 10 months old. What are the achievements?
A First, I have controlled the administration. I never force officers to work; I never throw files at them. Officers need to relax as well. They must be made comfortable before being given tough jobs. If they are stressed, they will not be productive. That is why I never took TV channels with me while paying surprise visits to different government offices.
Law and order is another success; it has improved it a lot. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, we are fifth from the bottom in the crime-rate ranking.
Q But the BJP government is accused of hounding political opponents.
A Revenge politics has always been there in Tripura; I am out to change that atmosphere, which comes from the communist culture. You can see that culture in West Bengal and Kerala. I told my partymen to stop it. I give them my own example. My own brother was stabbed; we could take him to Kolkata and save him as we had the money to pay for his treatment.
I would not say political violence has stopped, but it has certainly decreased in the last 10 months. It will take time to fully stop the violence that the opposition still instigates.
Q There are allegations of a lack of development in tribal areas.
A That is false propaganda. We lost ADC elections not because of a lack of development, but because we heavily relied on the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura. They drew a blank; we should have realised their capacity.
Q The Tipra Motha is demanding a separate Tipraland.
A This is just not possible in such a small state. There needs to be some kind of nationalism infusion in ADC areas. Foreign hands are there to create disturbances in the tribal belt. I will be tough if they become anti-nationals.
Q Have you performed any surgery after becoming the chief minister?
A Only one surgery. I had made a promise before I became the CM, so I kept it.
Q Have you ever given medical advice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Minister Amit Shah?
A Not really, but I once saw [BJP president J.P.] Nadda poking his teeth with something, and I asked him not to do that. I also stopped a person, one of the top three in our party, from using an over-the-counter nasal spray. Please don’t ask me who that person is.
Q What is your vision regarding health care in Tripura?
A I have to ease the pressure on the medical college in Agartala. I will build trauma centres to provide emergency medical services at district hospitals. Referrals to state hospitals should be minimum.
Q But, where would you get doctors?
A You will be surprised to know that there is no dearth of doctors in Tripura. I have amended rules to attract private doctors and specialists to join government hospitals. I have also set up a dental college, and seats have been increased in the Tripura Medical College. I have also streamlined the promotion policy in hospitals.
Q Tripura is notorious for illegal cannabis cultivation.
A Tripura has recorded seizures that are the second highest in the northeast. The home minister has said that there is zero tolerance to the drug menace.
Q Former colleagues like Sudip Roy Barman left the BJP before you became chief minister.
A They are to blame for it. When they faced problems, I called them to discuss issues. But they wanted to bypass me and speak with the Delhi leadership. Delhi did not accept their pleas. These leaders only believe in the theory of ‘I, Me and Myself’.
Q You have been declared the BJP’s chief minister candidate. Are you relieved?
A It depends on the situation. The decision can be changed if the situation demands it. No decision is eternal. Whoever becomes chief minister must be a good and able person.
I won’t like to become chief minister through unfair means. Look how a party in Bengal is buying votes to be in power. I will never be part of that politics. I would hate to become CM by buying votes using government money.