The Tripura government is trying to reduce the gaps in Dearness Allowance (DA) for the employees, Chief Minster Dr. Manik Saha said on Thursday.
Addressing a state-level event in Agartala, Dr. Saha highlighted that the present government had increased the Dearness Allowance from 3% to 29% without any protests from the employees.
He emphasized the government's on-going efforts to further reduce the DA gap despite facing financial constraints. "An amount of Rs. 100 crore is needed to release 1 percent DA," the Chief Minister stated, underscoring the financial implications of such a move.
Dr. Saha launched a direct and pointed attack on the opposition CPM, particularly targeting former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, on various issues- job offer distribution, political violence and law and order.
He accused the previous Left government of the politics of "divide and rule" and partisan practices in government jobs.
He countered former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar's criticism, claiming that under the previous regime, job offers were distributed from party offices. In a stark comparison, Dr. Saha pointed to the controversial 10,323 teachers' issue as a consequence of their policies.
In contrast, he asserted that the current government has provided around 19,000 jobs based on merit and transparency, with not a single appointment being challenged.
"We recruited in a transparent manner and hence we can distribute the job offers publicly," he said, accusing the opposition of attempting to mislead the public.
The Chief Minister then shifted his focus to the issue of law and order and political violence.
He challenged the opposition CPM and Congress to reflect on their own past before raising concerns. Dr. Saha revealed his plan to meet with the families of victims of political murders, violence, arson, and property damage that occurred during the Left regime.
Citing a statistic, he stated that 69 incidents of political murders took place in South Tripura alone during their rule, while "not a single instance of political murder" has occurred under the present government.
The Chief Minister's remarks were made during the inauguration of a state-level training camp for Medical Officers (Dental) and Community Health Officers (CHOs) at Prajna Bhavan.
The event was organized under the National Oral Health Programme and National Health Mission (NHM), in collaboration with Agartala Government Dental College and the Indian Dental Association.
During his address at event, Dr. Saha also highlighted several key initiatives aimed at strengthening the public healthcare system.
He mentioned that the state government is exploring the possibility of introducing heart transplant facilities and is preparing a mechanism to intensify HIV screening.
He also noted that the government has settled claims of around Rs. 17 crore under the Chief Minister-Jan Arogya Yojana, which provides coverage to those not included under PM-JAY.
The event concluded with the launch of two new state-of-the-art blood transport vans for Kailashahar and Bishalgarh hospitals. Health officials, including Director Dr. Tapan Majumder, were present at the event.
