Tripura ready for Assam-like NRC: CM Biplab Deb

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb Saturday said he brought transparency in the system in three and a half months. When he took over six months ago in March, Deb said, Tripura was in a debt of Rs 11,500 core, but he is optimistic to make the state a model one in the next three years.

Taking over as the chief minister he thought he would have no work to do, but was surprised by the amount of neglect the previous government had shown towards Tripura, Deb said while speaking at an interactive session at the India Today Conclave East here.

Asked about what he has done as the chief minister in the past six months, Deb said the first thing that his the government introduced was transparency in the system. "It took me three and a half months to bring in transparency in the system. We introduced a transparent recruitment policy as well," he said.

Talking about his comments making news, he said people have always quoted him without hearing the full speech. During his tenure as Tripura CM, Deb has made it to headlines often because of his statements. From hinting at the existence of the Internet during the Mahabharata era to questioning whether Diana Hayden deserved to win the Miss World title and whether she or Aishwarya Rai symbolised true 'Indian beauty', Deb has said it all. "What I had said there was something... Maybe it was Internet, maybe a satellite... but there was some technology. Else how did (the mythological character) Sanjaya see (the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas that), he saw," Deb asked?

Asked if he was ever scolded by BJP president Amit Shah because of his statements, Deb said Shah never told him anything about his statements. On illegal immigrants, he said Assam NRC is an issue of Assam and the Centre. He said if the Centre decides to approach Tripura for an Assam-like NRC, he will take it forward but until then there is no plan to implement an NRC in Tripura.

"We should wait for the results from the Assam NRC and then see if we want to implement it in other states or not," Deb said. Stating that his government will make Tripura a drug-free state, Deb said Tripura's drug problem is bigger than Punjab's. Expanding on that, he said 50,000 kg of marijuana was confiscated from Tripura. "The (DRUG) mafia were growing it in the state. They used to pay Rs 500-700 per kilogram to farmers and sell it for Rs 20,000 per kg in the market," Deb said. Can Biplab Deb do 45 pushups in one go? Accepting moderator Rahul Kanwal's fitness challenge, Deb pulled off 45 pushups in one go, eliciting a cheer from the audience.

He had earlier accepted the fitness challenge after being nominated by Union minister Rajyavardhan Rathore.

(With inputs from agencies.)