Taking a jibe at the selection of M A Baby from Kerala as the new general secretary of the CPI(M) politburo, former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb Monday said he does not personally know the new chief of the Left party.
Speaking to reporters after attending a government event at Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhawan in Agartala, Deb said, “There is no such leader among the Communists today, whom the entire country knows like Narendra Modiji, Amit Shahji, Yogi Adityanathji of the BJP… even I don’t personally know the person they (CPIM) have put in the topmost position of their party; (I) heard he is from Kerala, but I don’t know him personally. I don’t know him, despite having been a CM and an MP now. I shall surely check about him on Google.”
Deb added that the new CPI(M) general secretary may be “qualified” and “loyal” to the party and organisation, but his elevation to the top post of the party did not resonate with people across the country.
Referring to his earlier remark on the Congress and the CPI(M) not having significant pan-India leaders anymore, Deb said, “A party needs a transparent and well-known person across the country to provide leadership… There are many leaders of such calibre in the BJP. The Congress has a dynasty, and the communists don’t have any leader on this date whom the entire nation knows.”
Deb also raised the issue of ‘One Nation, One Election’, commenting that simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls will save a lot of time and expenditure.
The former Tripura chief minister said, “Its’ not like ‘One Nation, One Election’ is happening for the first time in the country. After the country got its Independence, Assembly and Lok Sabha elections used to be held together. It was due to the sins of the Congress that the system changed. They (Congress) dissolved several elected governments using Article 356 of the Constitution… owing to which elections started to be held out of schedule. Now, elections are held separately everywhere in the country, barring three to four states.”
Deb then stated that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre was not doing anything new by pitching for ‘One Nation, One election’ but only reintroducing whatever was already in force before.
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