Tripura governor-designate pitches for better India-Bangladesh relations

Tripura’s Governor designate Tathagata Roy, who will be sworn in on Wednesday, has arrived at state capital Agartala from Kolkata.

He was accorded a guard of honour on his arrival at the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday afternoon in presence of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, his cabinet colleagues, and other high officials.

Roy, an engineer-turned-university teacher-turned politician, was in the news for his political tweets — many of which come across as the views of a champion of Hindutva.

Speaking to reporters in Agartala, Roy said there would be no room for any political affinity once he assumed his new responsibility.

He, however, said he had a soft corner for Tripura and the nation that surrounds the state from three sides – Bangladesh, from where his forefathers had migrated to West Bengal.

“I used to regularly tweet but after being appointed as governor, I have completely stopped political tweets. 

“But today I have tweeted because I am taking charge of Tripura as governor at an auspicious moment,” he said.

Roy said the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh would further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.   

He was delighted to hear that during that visit, Modi would flag off a direct bus service from Kolkata to Agartala via Bangladesh.

“I cannot express my happiness in words after reading this news and I am wholeheartedly praying that this should materialise,” Roy added.

He said the bus service would benefit the people of Tripura right away, as even the poor were compelled to take a flight, which was very expensive, to visit mainland India.

“I hope the state government will provide help in this regard,” Roy said.

The governor-designate said that only recently he had visited Bangladesh to attend the meeting of a religious group.

There, he said, he met several political leaders who told him that the present government in Bangladesh wanted healthy relations with India.

Roy said good ties with Bangladesh were important for Tripura, as the state was surrounded by the neighbouring country in three sides.

Immediately after his arrival, Roy invited chief minister to the Raj Bhavan to discuss issues.

He has a strong political career spanning about two and a half decades and was also president of BJP’s West Bengal unit for 2002-06.

But his primary contribution was largely in the form of writing articles, researching issues such as infiltration and demography, and participating in debates.

The 69-year-old said his forefathers had migrated from Brahmanbaria, only 20 km away from Agartala.

His wife and other members of his family were also in Agartala to witness the oath-taking ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.