Tribal Welfare Minister challenges Congress MLA to prove corruption charges, will file defamation suit

Tribal Affairs Minister Bikash Debbarma dismissed the charges of corruption as baseless and said he would soon file a defamation suit against the former minister and Congress legislator Sudip Roy Barman who had first raised allegations in the Tripura Assembly.

The row started last week when opposition MLA Sudip Roy Barman flagged apprehensions of corruption in a Rs 1,400 crore World Bank-funded project introduced for socio-economic development of tribal communities.

Speaking with media persons at his official chamber in Civil Secretariat on Saturday, the Minister said that  if Sudip Roy Barman can prove that he owns a doctor’s (Dr Ila Lodh) house at Agartala or his wife and son own petrol pumps, he shall retire from politics. But if he fails to do the same, he must do the same.

Debbarma, however, admitted that some other properties were registered in his name but said they were purchased earlier, only registered recently.

In response to a separate allegation that he had erected a boundary wall around his ancestral house at Krishnapur in Khowai district, the minister admitted that the construction was indeed done for his security purposes, but he said any detail about the same could be obtained from the department.

The row started last week when opposition Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman raised  apprehensions of corruption in a Rs 1,400 crore World Bank-funded project introduced for socio-economic development of tribal communities. The project was designed to be implemented through the Tribal Welfare department.

The minister later had clarified in the Assembly that the project was being implemented as per rules and there was no corruption.

During discussion on the issue in the House Roy Barman alleged that Tribal Affairs minister Bikash Debbarma had collected wealth for himself and his family members in a period of over one year since he started serving as a minister in Tripura.

Leader of opposition (LoP) Jitendra Chaudhary has also criticized the ruling  party for alleged corrupt practices by leaders of BJP

Sudip Roy Barman after the assembly session, addressing a press conference at Congress Bhavan in Agartala has also alleged that the Tribal Welfare minister’s assets included an apartment at New Delhi apart from other real estate assets at Lembucherra, a house in the foothills of the Baramura range, an old house and two petrol pumps registered under the names of his relatives among other properties.

While, Minister  also said that he has assets as before came to politics, he was a first-class  government contractor and also showed his income details in audit and income tax reports. Debbarma  also said that he has got vast properties including land from his ancestors as he belongs to a landlord family.