Tripura minister calls meeting of BJP legislatures amid crisis

The government Chief Whip Kalyani Roy invited all 34 MLAs excluding Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma to attend the meeting, said an MLA who has also got an invitation to attend the meeting.

During the ongoing crisis in Tripura BJP after large-scale dissidence against Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and a day after holding series of meeting of the leader of dissidence MLAs Sudip Roybarman in Delhi with BJP national president J P Nadda and others, the meeting of BJP legislative party by a minister has assumed to be significant.

“We don’t know the exact reason for such a meeting but it might be an attempt to garner support in favour of Biplab Kumar Deb, as Ratan Lal Nath is known to be the closest aide of the Chief Minister.

"As many as 23 MLAs of 31 had attended the meeting and put their note of descent against the Chief Minister during the visit of BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santosh last week. And, alliance partner IPFT delegation has also spoken against Deb to J P Nadda two days ago during their meeting,” the MLA stated.

He further pointed out that earlier also, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had convened meeting to seek public opinion over his continuation of CM’s office in December last year at Vivekananda Stadium after a large number of his party men demanded his removal before the national general secretary and central observer for the state Vinod Kumar Sonkar.