Agartala, May 15 (UNI): Sixty-nine-year-old Professor of Dental Surgery in Tripura Medical College Manik Saha was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tripura on Sunday in a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhawan here.
State Governor Satyadeo Narain Ar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Saha in the glittering Darbar hall. Saha took oath alone as the party is yet to finalise the list of his cabinet members due to large-scale dissidence among the MLAs and party functionaries following a sudden change of Chief Minister.
Many legislators, including Deputy Chief Minister in Saha’s predecessor Biplab Deb’s cabinet Jishnu Dev Varma and three other former ministers, stayed away from the swearing-in ceremony. However, former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb along with some of his cabinet colleagues including Ratan Lal Nath and IPFT leader and former Tribal Welfare Minister Mevar Kr Jamatia and nd a few other MLAs and BJP leaders graced the occasion.
Saha told the media after the oath: “We are soldiers of the party. Whatever assignment I have been given, I shall perform it to the best of my ability. I shall do the best for the overall development of Tripura.”
Deb tendered his resignation on Saturday following instructions from the BJP central leadership. Saha had joined BJP in December 2016 and after the party came to power two years later, he became the president of Tripura Cricket Association in 2019.
