Agartala: The Congress in the Northeast has received another massive jolt, after the acting president of Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Pijush Kanti Biswas on Saturday tendered his resignation from the post and announced his retirement from politics due to ‘personal reasons’.
Biswas resigned from the post six days after former member of parliament of Lok Sabha from Silchar in Assam and president of All India Mahila Congress Sushmita Dev resigned from the party and joined Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Biswas wrote on Facebook, “With sincere gratitude, I thank all Congress Leaders, supporters for your cooperation during my tenure as TPCC President (acting). Today I have resigned from the post of President and retired from politics as well. My sincere gratitude towards Hon’ble Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Shri Rahul Gandhiji for their support. I am returning to my profession. Jai Hind!!”
Biswas, also an eminent lawyer in Tripura, was appointed as acting president in December 2019 after Tripura’s royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, who is now chairman of Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA), resigned as president of TPCC.
Recently, a series of Congress leaders, including former minister Prakash Das, former MLA Subal Bhowmik, state youth congress working president Santanu Saha and others, have joined TMC, after the party announced its next poll target in Tripura after its recent Bengal win. Tripura’s assembly polls are scheduled to be held in 2023.
Also read: Tripura: TMC Renews Hopes of Revival in State with 7 Congress Leaders Jumping Ship
Biswas also served as the lawyer for Prashant Kishor-led Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), which was booked by Tripura Police for allegedly violating COVID-19 guidelines while conducting a survey on political perception in the state. It was later granted bail by a local court.
While Biswas said that he resigned due to “personal reasons”, he has also claimed that he didn’t get the support and cooperation from the Congress leaders in Tripura and they tried to disrupt his political activities.
“When I was appointed as president I tried to work. I tried to strengthen the party. Though I have received full support from the Congress high command, in Tripura, a section of leaders didn’t support me and neither cooperated with me. Unity and cooperation is necessary to strengthen Congress. I didn’t want to be blamed for not being able to produce proper results for lack of cooperation. So, I have resigned,” Biswas said while briefing the media.
While Biswas said that he has no plans of joining any other political party, Congress party insiders said that there are possibilities of his switching over to some other political party, mainly TMC.
When asked about talks with the TMC and Biswas, spokesperson of TMC Kunal Ghosh told The Wire that right now he will not speak on this matter.
Earlier in an interview with The Wire, Biswas had said that the joining of ‘few people’ from Congress to the TMC is not going to affect his party. He had further said that TMC alone can’t do anything in Tripura without an alliance with Congress.