Twenty-four hours later, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb asked civil service officers and officials to work for the people “without worrying about contempt of court” and said it was not easy to make indiscriminate arrests because the CM was “a police officer”. He is in charge.” This comment of his has gone viral on social media.
Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee called Deb an “insult to the entire country” for “making fun of the judiciary”, statements that drew bitter criticism from opposition parties.
The Chief Minister’s remarks came at the 26th biennial convention of the Tripura Civil Service Officers Association at Rabindra Shatabarishi Bhawan here on Saturday.
In the video that went viral on social media, Deb is heard saying, “I want to tell you, don’t do this to me… (I heard the officials say) ‘Sir, there will be problems in the system’. Will there be problems? ? (they say) ‘Sir, we can’t take the risk, there will be contempt of court’…. Who has been jailed for contempt of court in Tripura? I am here; if you go, I I will walk before you… It is not that easy to take you to jail. Police is needed to go to jail. The chief minister is in charge of the police. He cannot send anyone to jail like this.”
The CM further said, “… this contempt of court is called as if a tiger is sitting. I am a tiger. The power rests with the main person running the government. That means all the power is with the people. We are the government of the people, not the courts. Today we often see cases of contempt of court. Contempt has been done? The former chief secretary said he would come under contempt of court and jail Will go, die. Let him die. We say goodbye to him.”
In his tweet, where he tagged a video clip of the CM’s speech, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee wrote, “@BjpBiplab is a disgrace to the entire nation! He brazenly mocks democracy, mocks the honorable judiciary and seems to get away with it! Will the Supreme Court take cognizance of his comments which show such serious disrespect?
While the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has not made any formal statement on the issue, Sanjay Mishra, Media Advisor to the CM, replied to the tweet and wrote, “You should listen to the full speech before spreading your fake propaganda what you have learned. We all know the respect you have for your political mentor CPM and government institutions.
In his speech which has now gone viral on various social media, CM Deb referred to the recent attack on a block development officer at Poangbadi in South Tripura district and said, “I come from a party. During this an accident happened with a BDO; I am so embarrassed. I feel ashamed the most. TCS officials came to me to thank them for arresting me (people involved).
Asking the executive officers and bureaucrats to discuss the issues with the elected public representatives, the CM said, “Field officers like BDO, SDM, Panchayat Secretary who have public relations should not care whether Pradhan, Deputy The President is the elected representative of the ruling party like the President. , the vice presidents have equal or less capacity than you. You should listen to them and try to work… they won’t tear you apart and say bdo is ok. Otherwise they ask for BDO and then ask themselves to change.
Quoting former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath ChatterjeeBiplab Deb also said that the court is the agency to implement the laws made in the legislature. “The court is for the people, and the people are not for the court. Once (former) Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said this when the Supreme Court said that 11 MPs will not hold their posts. He said his position would remain and added that law-makers are there to make laws. You (the court) are there to enforce the law. He said that (court) is the agency to enforce the laws made by us.
Deb defended his remarks saying that withholding of promotions of public servants for a pending court issue is not justified as “injustice” will be done to retired employees.
“…. Cabinet decision can be taken to do this. We will promote them. How many days will we make them wait? They go on retirement and injustice is being done to them. They (officials) say that there will be contempt of court. It looks like a tiger is sitting somewhere. I’m a tiger Power is with the person who is the main person running the government. That is, all the power is with the people. We are the government of the people, not the court,” he said.
Deb also asked the officers to work with “Niyat, Niti aur Niyam” (good intentions, principles and rules). “Do not act only on the behest of CM, Secretary or DM. If you work on your own you will be extraordinary. If you are in the field to distribute relief and ration in floods before the arrival of the Chief Secretary, then people will remember you.
His comments have received mixed reactions from various political parties. Tripura CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Choudhary condemned Deb’s remarks, saying, “It is very surprising and unfortunate. How can a person holding the chair of the highest constitutional figure of a state make such a remark which is completely against the spirit of the constitution! It is misusing the spirit of the Constitution. A CM directly undermined the court and the rule of law. This will result in encouragement of those miscreants, anti-social elements who were disturbing the peace for the last three and a half years which is a big threat to the state. I request the CM not to speak like this and be mindful of your position.”
Reacting to this, Tripura Congress President Birjit Sinha said, “Everyone should respect the judiciary, obey the orders of the court. For democracy, there should be no conflict between the judiciary and the executive.”
On the other end, BJP Spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said it is wrong to support CM Deb’s supporters in contempt of court.
“This is a misinterpretation of his statement. Many public welfare development works are getting delayed on the pretext of contempt of court. Many officers have a tendency to delay things on this pretext. This was the old system of (CPM ruled) Tripura. Our government is run by the people. People have direct participation in development works. Not a single case of contempt of court has come up against the state government. A section of officials still tries to scare people with this issue. The CM said this to explain that the minister or the CM signs the documents and will face any action before the authorities in case they come to court. He tried to encourage officials to work for the people, he did not support contempt of court,” Bhattacharya said.
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