Shah hits out at Left parties for Tripura's 'backwardness'

Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday hit out at Left parties for turning Tripura into a "backward" state during their 35-year rule and said it could witness progress only after the BJP assumed power in 2018.

- Press Trust of India

DHALAI:

Addressing a public meeting in Dhalai after visiting a village where displaced Bru tribals were rehabilitated, Shah said that Tripura remained behind on all parameters of development during the communist rule but is now moving forward on the path of progress.

"For 35 years, the communists ruled Tripura. The communists claimed that they worked for the welfare of the poor. The Congress also ruled Tripura for a considerable time. But the people of the state always remained poor. It was when the BJP came to power that Tripura could witness development," he said.

Shah said when he visited Tripura in 2017 as BJP president and stayed for five days, only 11 people took party membership. "Gradually we started our work. We worked hard and could oust the communists from power" after toiling for years, he said.

The Union home minister said during the Left rule, just two-and-a-half per cent of the people used to get piped drinking water and now 85 per cent get potable water.