IANS
AGARTALA, MAY 20
Amidst controversy over his Hindutva ideology, BJP leader Tathagata Roy took charge as the 16th governor of Left-ruled Tripura on Wednesday.The 70-year-old civil-engineer-turned-politician was sworn-in by Tripura High Court Chief Justice Deepak Gupta at a simple ceremony at Raj Bhavan here.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, his cabinet colleagues, leaders of various political parties and Army and police officials were present during the ceremony.
Nagaland Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya had been holding the gubernatorial posts of Tripura along with Assam.
Roy was a member of Bharatiya Jatana Party (BJP) national executive and president of party's West Bengal unit from 2002 to 2006 and contested the Lok Sabha elections in the last year's parliamentary polls in Bengal.
He was in Jadavpur University in Kolkata as professor and founder head of the department of construction engineering after he played a key role in construction of metro rail in Kolkata as its chief engineer.
After the President Pranab Mukherjee appointed Roy as the new governor of Tripura on May 12, state's ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) threatened to launch a mass movement if Roy crossed his constitutional limit. "We welcome (Tathagata) Roy as governor of Tripura. Like the previous Congress government, the BJP-led NDA (National democratic Alliance) government at the Centre is appointing their leaders as governors of various states," CPI-M Tripura state secretary Bijan Dhar had told reporters.
"If the new governor crosses his constitutional limit, the CPI-M would launch a mass movement against him," Dhar had said.
Dhar, also a CPI-M central committee member, said : "We believe that Roy as the governor of Tripura would cooperate with the Left Front government and discharge his constitutional duties.
" On May 17 in New Delhi, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury expressed concerns about alleged pro-Hindutva comments made by Roy and his comments on Gujarat riot. The new governor, however, refused to give any reactions on the views of the CPI-M leaders.
"I have no reaction on these comments. I have no comments on these issues," Roy told IANS.
Direct bus between Agartala, Kolkata via Bangladesh likely
IANS
AGARTALA, MAY 20
A direct bus service between Agartala and Kolkata through Bangladesh is expected to be finalised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's forthcoming visit to Dhaka, Tripura's new Governor Tathagata Roy said here Wednesday.
"I have learned that the direct bus service between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh is expected to be finalised when Prime Minister visits Dhaka next month," Roy told reporters after the swearing-in ceremony.
He said it would "open a new era in the India-Bangladesh relations" and that "the people of Tripura and other northeastern states would be greatly benefited".
A veteran leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Roy on Wednesday took charge as the 16th governor of Tripura, now ruled by the Left Front.
He said the people of Tripura and other northeastern states are forced to go to Kolkata in West Bengal and other Indian states by flights even though the air fare is very costly.
"I have asked Chief Minister Manik Sarkar to take necessary steps in view of the possibilities to introduce the direct bus service between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh."
Tripura Transport Minister Manik Dey said the Tripura government has been demanding direct bus services between Tripura and other northeastern states and Kolkata through Bangladesh for easy movement of people of the region.
"Since March 2010, a series of meetings were held between the officials of external affairs, road transport and highways ministries, Tripura government and concerned organisations. The last meeting in this regard was held in the road transport and highways ministry in New Delhi on May 14," Dey told IANS.
To a question, the new governor said that despite being a former BJP leader, his ideology would not play any role in delivering on his responsibilities.
"I know Tripura for many years. Many of my close relatives live in Tripura. My ancestral homes were in Bangladesh near to Tripura," Roy said, adding he was keen to serve Tripura and its people.
