BJP calls for strengthening party in Tripura

Agartala, Feb 8 (UNI) BJP national observer and Tripura election in-charge Harendra Pratap today called upon the people to make the party a force to reckon with in the Assembly.

Addressing the media here, Mr Pratap accused the Congress of acquiring support of the Leftist at the Centre and said both Congress and Left had been ''hoodwinking'' the people of the state by criticising each other.

'' Both parties are two sides of the same coin and the Congress has leased three strategically important states - Tripura, West Bengal and Kerala to the Left Front for running the Government in Delhi, '' Mr Pratap stated.

He alleged that hobnobbing of the Congress and Left were not new in the country and during 1976 late Indira Gandhi ruled the country with its support. This also happened in 1991 and as a result, even after 60 years of Independence ''India could not shine properly''.

He said the NDA Government at the Centre had adopted several measures to accelerate the development of the Northeast and formation of a separate Ministry for the region.

DoNER was set up only for that purpose, while the Cabinet had approved that at least ten per cent of the total budget of all the Ministries would be spent in the region and it had actually helped reduce the gap between mainstream India and the Northeast.

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