Agartala: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday offered prayers at the renovated Tripureswari Temple in Gomati district of Tripura. Governor N. Indrasen Reddy, Chief Minister Manik Saha, and senior government officials were present at the event. Thousands of people gathered outside the temple to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister amid the scorching heat.
This temple, more than five hundred years old, is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas. The temple has been renovated at a cost of ₹52 crore under the central government’s ‘Prasad’ or PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Campaign) scheme. This temple was built by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya in 1501. BJP ally Tipra Motha upset over not being invited to event
The Tipra Motha Party (TMP), a constituent of the BJP-led coalition government in Tripura, expressed disappointment on Monday at not receiving an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s event in the state. Prime Minister Modi on Monday offered prayers at the renovated Tripureshwari Temple in Gomati district of Tripura.
Senior MLA of the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), Ranjit Debbarma, said, “We are saddened by not receiving an invitation to the Prime Minister’s event. Our party chief and royal descendant, Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, and party MLAs were denied the opportunity to witness this historic event. Rajmata Bibhu Kumari Devi was also not invited to the event, even though the temple was built by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya in 1501.”
This incident comes a day after four people, including Mangal Debbarma, vice-president of the BJP’s Janata Morcha, were attacked by TMP supporters in West Tripura. The TMP MLA claimed that before the signing of the Tripura Merger Agreement between the Indian Union and Queen Kanchan Prava Devi in September 1949, the Maa Tripur Sundari temple was owned by the Manikya rulers.
In addition to the Prime Minister, Chief Minister Manik Saha and MP and state BJP president Rajib Bhattacharya were present at the ceremony held at the renovated Tripureshwari temple. Expressing displeasure over the regional party’s neglect, Debbarma said that BJP MLAs and elected representatives were invited to attend the event.
The TMP, which was the main opposition party in Tripura, joined the BJP-led government in March last year before the Lok Sabha elections. The party has 13 members in the state assembly. The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), another constituent of the BJP-led alliance in the state, was also not invited to the event. IPFT General Secretary Swapan Debbarma said, “We were not invited to the event. I don’t know whether our only minister, Shukla Charan Noatia, attended the event or not.”
