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Ask any one in Tripura to describe their Chief Minister; they
would use two Cs – Clean and Cool.
A man with clean image and cool temperament –but he has
a heart full of aspirations, which has not only pressed him to
swathe a long journey from a rookie student leader to a
connoisseur politician, but also to take his state to global
acclaim – a feat which none of his predecessors could achieve.
“The government has been able to bring both peace and
prosperity” Sarkar opined. If the fifteen years long Left
Front rule in this distant northeastern state is something
admirable, then more exemplary is its Chief Minister.
Sarkar, who is perhaps the ‘poorest’ CM in the county,
was born to a middle-class family on January 22nd
1949, at Radhakishorepur in South Tripura district, Sarkar was
inspired by communist ideology in his early school days. He
joined the student movements when he was studying at the
prestigious MBB College at Agartala, the state capital. Widely
known for his honesty, Sarkar became a CPI (M) party member in
1968. He entered the party secretariat in 1978. In the 70s he
spearheaded the student movement in the state. Sarkar got a
berth in the CPI (M) central committee in 1985. He made his
maiden appearance in state legislative assembly in 1980 when he
was elected MLA from Agartala. As years past his incredible
devotion for the party propelled him to become the state
secretary of CPI (M) in 1993. Five years down the line- in 1998
this non-smoker became the Chief Minister for the first time. In
2003, he doubled his reign.
Married to Panchali Bhattacharya, a central government
officer, the couple sadly does not have a child.
His modest living is something that his party men feel proud
of. “As Chief
Minister, Sarkar received a monthly salary of Rs 9,200 and
subsidiary allowance of Rs 1,200 per month and these amounts he
donates to the party fund, like other party men,” Gautam Das,
the State spokesman of the Communist Party of India-Marxist
(CPI-M) was quoted by a news agency. Even his political
opponents revere him for his unmatchable integrity. “We have
no doubt about his honesty,” said Tapas Dey, former legislator
and Congress spokesman. Sarkar was a close follower of late
Chief Minister Nripen Chakraborty who was the father figure of
the Communist movement in Tripura. With this empathic win Sarkar
has made a place in the record books.
Now Sarkar is not only the longest serving Chief Minister of
Tripura but he is also in-sight of becoming the longest serving
Chief Minister in Northeast if he can cross former Arunachal
Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang’s 19 years rule.
Being in the hot seat for past ten years, Sarkar has many
feathers to his cap. Steady decline in insurgency, increase in
private investment, remarkable improvement in higher education
sector, successful implementation of public-private partnership
model – have all gone to make Sarkar stand tall among the
other Chief Minister’s of the region. His government is
viewing natural gas, bamboo and natural rubber as the three main
opportunity sectors in the state and has been asking long-term
Central policy for the effective utilization of the State's
substantial natural gas reserves.
Taming insurgency – Sarkar has been able to arouse interest
among foreign investors for Tripura. "With the
two-and-a-half-decade-old militancy showing signs of abating,
countries like China, Japan, Germany, Thailand and Bangladesh,
besides Indian investors, have shown interest to invest in or
provide financial assistance to Tripura," Sarkar told a
news agency. Sarkar has also been advocating the linkage of the
East-West corridor through Tripura. “Tripura has 44 km of
border with Assam in the plains area, and 865 km of border with
Bangladesh, mostly plains thus the state can really become the
gateway for Northeast to the South east Asia.” The CPI (M)
Polit Bureau member added.
The ‘Sarkar Era’ has seen Tripura getting foreign aid.
China has agreed to provide technology to set up bamboo-based
industries and livelihood opportunities to farmers and tribal
people, while the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)
would provide Rs.3.66 billion as soft loan to the state.
"Germany will also provide Rs.1.12 billion for ecological
conservation projects and development of livelihood resources
for tribals and other forest dwellers," the chief minister
said.
While the Left has of late been troubled by a tussle between
industrialization and agriculture, here you have a Leftist Chief
Minister who adopted latest technology to boost agriculture.
“The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) technology for paddy
cultivation has increased productivity of rice from 2.5 tonnes
per hectare to about 3.5 tonnes per hectare in the state. By
motivating the farmers, seed replacement rate in respect of high
yielding and hybrid varieties has increased to 33 per cent.”
Sarkar once proudly said in a public programme. He now aims to
take the state to food grain self-sufficiency by 2010-12.
Come what may, this dal-rice loving Marxist has a
brand of his own and his people vote for him simply because he
lives by example and goes on achieving milestones.
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