Union Minister Anant Geete says 67% of population in Tripura languishing below poverty line

Union minister Anant G Geete on Friday denounced the Left Front government in Tripura for not being able to alleviate poverty in the state, saying 67 per cent of its population is below the poverty line.

"Is it good governance? When the national average of BPL is 38 per cent, in the Marxist ruled state the number is 67 per cent, which is abnormally high. "What is this government doing being at the helm of affairs for the last 23 years? People in this state are getting poorer due to the governance they are being provided," Geete said at a press conference in Agartala. 

The Union Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister, who visited the state to highlight the achievements the two-year rule of the Narendra Modi led NDA government, said even very poor people in the country were now getting LPG. "In Tripura, people do not get their proper share of money allocated by the Centre, which is the main reason for poverty and such a high rate of BPL percentage," he said adding, had there been good governance, the people of Tripura could have caught up with the national BPL average.

Attacking the UPA government, he said the last ten years of the UPA government were full of scams, and could be termed as government of scams. But, in the last two years of Narendra Modi government, there is no scam and the coming three years would also be scam-free, Geete claimed. "There is only 16 months left for the Tripura Assembly polls and we will work hard to change this government. There has been a change of guard in neighbouring Assam and it seems a BJP-led government will also come to power in Tripura," he added.