Santosh Mohan visits Tripura on a political programme

Agartala, July 09 (UNI) Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise Santosh Mohan Dev reached here this morning on a political programme.

Mr Dev would hold meeting with Congress MLAs regarding the upcoming presidential election as well as with the party matters in Agartala circuit house and talk to the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), a tribal based anti-left outfit MLAs over the issue of alliance.

He would also seek votes for UPA-sponsored presidential candidate Pratibha Patil from INPT MLAs. There are 13 MLAs from Congress, 6 from INPT and 41 from left front in 60-members house of Tripura.

Opposition leader in Tripura assembly Ratan Lal Nath, MLA Gopal Roy and senior Congress leader Jawahar Saha received him in Agartala airport and Mr Dev interacted with the senior party men in the VIP lounge.

According to party insiders, except Tripura Pradesh Congress President Samir Ranjan Barman and his legislator son Sudip Roy Barman all other sitting congress MLAs as well as the senior leaders of the party met Mr Dev in the airport.

''Congress leaders and MLA have been demanding the removal of Mr Samir Ranjan Barman since the past few months to strengthen the Opposition force in the state, despite several assurance AICC is yet to remove him from president post, which is virtually giving benefit to the ruling left front,'' said a senior Congress party leader.

UNI