AGARTALA, December 2 (TIWN): During the last five years, state govt, its main ideological thinktank Melarmath , CPI(M) employees organ H B Road and also CPI(M) leaders have been campaigning against the 13th Finance Commission and its deprivation( Banchana) against Tripura. Even CPI(M) 'Clean and Mr White Brand' Manik Sarkar is not lagging behind in this campaign. Tripura is the only state in the country where the Pay Review system is implemented instead of Pay Commission and the outcome is that Tripura is the state where state govt employees are now enjoying the poorest salary structure in India. While all the states have implemented the pay scale as per the proposals of 6th Pay Commission, Tripura employees are having the Pay Review system with lowest lay structure framed by the Melarmath controlled financial experts in the state Govt. Needless to say, Manik's sole goal is to keep State Govt. employees in poorest financial condition in country.

But when it was decided that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would arrive in Tripura on December 1 as part of his North East visit,:employees of Tripura and even those under the H B Road'as flag were waiting with eager expectation that this time state govt would take a positive step including their pay scale issue in the Memorandum of demands submitted by the state cabinet to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A Melarmath'sclose state govt employee( unwilling to reveal his name) told TIWN this morning ,"Even from  a section of H B Road wings it was campaigned that if the Prime Minister gives the positive signal regarding the allocation from 14th Finance Commission, state govt will impose the 6th Pay Commission's proposals. But after watching the Press Meet of the Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, who briefed the media about the details of the meeting with the PM, we were simply stunned. Mysteriously state govt not even mentioned employees issues."

Lets have a look on the key points of the memorandum of demands submitted by the state cabinet before the Prime Minister:-

1) Improvement of Rail connectivity

2) Improvement of telecom sectors

3) Assistance from the Centre to convince Bangladesh Govt to allow Tripura using the Ashuganj and Chittagong ports in transshipment of goods

4) Setting up of IIT,AIIMS, Agriculture University

5) Setting up of Indo-Bangla rail connectivity through Akhaura-Agratala route

 Over the last one month CPI(M) party and its leaders including CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat , Manik Sarkar and other leaders have been shouting invariably against the Centre blaming it for curtailing the MGNREGA fund in Tripura. Even on 26th party organized a Dharma(Sit in Demonstration) in front of Jantar Man tar. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar attended the dharna along with 20MLAs from Tripura . It is learnt from a high placed official that only for this programme in Delhi more than Rs 50 lakh was spent from state govt fund. In Tripura CPI(M) is busy in organizing political campaigns criticising the Centre for the curtailment of MGNREGA fund in spite of good(?) performance since the beginning of MGNREGA Act. Interestingly when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the state cabinet on Monday evening, Manik Sarkar and Co didn't mention the MGNREGA curtailment issue before the PM even verbally. And from this mysterious attitude of the govt several questions already start to rise:-

1) Is the MGNREGA curtailment issue a farce issue framed by the elite group of CPI(M) including Manik?

2) Is the state govt trying to please in as many ways simply to save its face against the outburst of massive scam in different blocks and departments in centrally sponsored funds like RMSA, NRHM, MGNREGA?

3) Why didn't the state govt put the demand note before PM Modi in siiues like 13th Finance Commission and MGNREGA curtailment when the PM himself was in Tripura?

4) Is Manik Sarkar and Co trying to dupe the common mass of the state ?

5) Is Manik scary of the outcome of HC verdict yet to be given on the PIL submitted by PCC and Trinamool Congress?

6) Is state govt aware that after massive scams in various centrally sponsored funds, more stern measures are to be taken by the Centre?

7) Has Manik Sarkar tried to shift the attention of the people living in the state from different corruption issues by inviting PM Modi, whom he invariably criticizes, for the Platana programme?