Tripura Assembly Election 2018: Congress promises loan waiver for farmers, employment to voters in state

Agartala: The Congress on Monday promised development, employment and waiver of farmers’ loans in Tripura if voted to power in the state. Releasing its election manifesto here for the Tripura Assembly elections, AICC general secretary and Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanswamy brushed aside poll promises and claims made by the BJP and the Left. [caption id=“attachment_4334185” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The ‘Swarnajug’ or golden age in Tripura, as claimed by the ruling CPM, was a “failure”, he said, while describing the BJP’s promises of ‘acche din’ as “treachery”. Appealing to the people to vote for the Congress, he said his party would usher in development, peace, employment, healthcare and the unity of Tripura, as well as write off farmers’ loans. The Congress has fielded candidates for 59 out of the 60 seats in Tripura where Assembly elections will be held on 18 February. The results will be out on 3 March, along with the poll outcomes in Meghalaya and Nagaland. Narayanswamy also alleged that the BJP was contesting the election by using “money and muscle power”. To a query on BJP president Amit Shah’s allegation that the Congress was helping the CPM by dividing the anti-Left votes, he said it was the other way around. “We can rather bring this charge against them (the BJP) because they were a non-entity in the state even two years ago and could secure barely 1 percent of the vote. Congress is the only party fighting against the Communists in Tripura, Kerala and rest of the country," he told reporters. Coming down heavily on the BJP over its manifesto released on Saturday, he said the party couldn’t implement the 7th Pay Commission in BJP-ruled states, and was now “selling dreams” in Tripura. The Congress manifesto also promised direct funding from the Centre to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), introducing the 7th Pay Commission benefits for state government employees and renaming Agartala Airport after the last king of the state, Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur. Tripura Pradesh Congress working president Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, who was also present on the occasion, said the BJP’s vision document was full of “false promises”.