Bedlam in Tripura Assembly over charge against Minister

Forest Minister Mevar Kumar Jamatia offers to resign if allegation of forest land grab is proved

Former Tripura chief minister and leader of Opposition Manik Sarkar.

The Tripura Assembly on Thursday witnessed pandemonium and two adjournments after the Opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) members sought a high-level investigation into allegations that the State’s Forest Minister Mevar Kumar Jamatia had sought allotment of a large expanse of forest land in his name.

The Minister rejected the allegations outright and announced that he would step down if he had flouted the law at any level.

Newspaper report

Deputy Leader of the Opposition and former minister Badal Choudhury raised the issue after the Question Hour, citing a report published in a local vernacular newspaper. The report said that Mr. Jamatia, also the general secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party’s ally Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), had last year sought the allotment of 50 acres of land from within limits of reserved forests in the Teleiamura subdivision of Khowai district.

The newspaper report was based on an official communication between Khowai District Magistrate and Collector Smitha Mol and Special Secretary to the Revenue Department. The district magistrate sought legal opinion over prayer for such allotment as the “Collector is authorised to allot land for agriculture purpose only to any person who is economically poor and will cultivate the land by himself or for homestead purpose to a person not owning any house and who intends to build the house for personal habitation.”

‘Clarity needed’

The District Magistrate further wrote: “Before granting allotment in his (Mevar Kumar Jamatia) favour clarity is required regarding its legality.”

All CPI(M) legislators except Leader of Opposition Manik Sarkar rushed to the well of the House to demand a high level probe into the whole case.

The Speaker adjourned the House twice amid chaos on the last day of the Budget session.

No violation

Responding to the allegations, Mr. Jamatia said he was ready to face any investigation and if found wrong he would step down.

He strongly claimed that there was no violation of rule and law in the whole matter.

Mr. Jamatia later challenged opposition CPI(M) leaders to prove the allegations against him within 24 hours else he would resort to legal action against them.

He said the charge was politically motivated to tarnish his image and that of his party — IPFT —ahead of elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council slated for April 6.