Narendra Modi in Tripura: PM alleges Left government 'hypnotised' the people, asks voters to choose BJP's 'HIRA'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed his first rally in Tripura on Thursday in Sipahijala district’s Sonamura subdivision where he took a jibe at the CPM government by calling the chief minister ‘purana manik’ (old gem) and asked them to adopt ‘HIRA’ (diamond) Bharatiya Janata Party. Later, he addressed another rally in Unakoti’s Kailashahar.

Addressed rallies in Sonamura and Kailashahar, where people from all sections of society joined. Appealed to the people of Tripura to reject the Left and support @BJP4Tripura's good governance agenda. https://t.co/GhfXTdx7KU pic.twitter.com/VRVp9aj62p

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 8, 2018

Modi arrived in Agartala at around 11 on Thursday morning and left for New Delhi at 4.15 on Thursday evening. Saying his government was working to develop northeast India, Modi said on Thursday that Tripura remained backwards due to 25 years of Left “misrule”. Sonamura is located around 50 kilometres south-west of Agartala and Chief Minister Manik Sarkar’s Dhanpur Assembly constituency falls in the same sub-division. Modi said it is time you shun old manik. “Tripura needs hira(diamond)” and in his typical style of assigning acronyms said, “H matlab Highway, I matlab I way(digital connectivity) ,R matlab Roadway, A matlab Airway.” He said the Vajpayee government had set up the Development of North Eastern Region Ministry to develop the region. His government also gave top priority to develop the infrastructure of the region and to improve the lives of the people. Modi said a Rs 1,300 crore National Bamboo Mission had been launched to utilise the huge bamboo resources in the northeast. [caption id=“attachment_4342235” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a rally in Unakoti’s Kailashahar. Twitter@Bjp4india[/caption] Giving the slogan “Cholo Paltai” (Go for Change), the prime minister urged the people to vote the BJP to power to transform Tripura. “Voting for BJP’s lotus symbol will be a punishment for the Left Front government in the 18 February Assembly elections as during its 25 years of misrule people did not get anything, poverty went up and backwardness widened.” Criticising Sarkar, Modi said: “under his (Sarkar’s) white kurta there is a dark side. His government cheated people by giving poor wages when the people of other parts of the country got higher wages and the government employees got higher salaries. “In the past 25 years, the Left parties hypnotised the people. People could not understand how backward they are. Now the time has come to change the future of the state and the fortune of the people.” Modi went on: “Out of every Rs 100 spent in Tripura, the central government is giving Rs 80. The Manik Sarkar government is unable to spend Central money properly. The Left government is also looting the money of the poor. “If the Left government is allowed to govern (further), there will be no development in the state.” The prime minister also said that if the BJP took power in the state, corruption will end. “People are committing suicide in Tripura. Youths are not getting jobs… The time has come to throw away the Left parties. In Unakoti’s Kailashahar, Modi urged the people to come forward and vote for change. Saying, “These elections are not about any candidate or a political party but the aspirations of people of Tripura”, he said that the money Centre sends for the development of the state remains unused. He further said members of the CPM protest in Delhi demanding answers from the prime minister but they do not bother to solve the problems in their own state. Assuring the people of the state of the benefits of seventh pay commission, promising them development. After repeating his wordplay on HIRA in Kailashahar, Modi ended his rally with chants of change. With inputs from agencies