Manik Sarkar
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Spartan lifestyle
Having vacated his official residence, former Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar, who doesn’t have a home of his own, is now living at the CPM party office here with his wife, retired central government employee Panchali Bhattacharjee.
The Left lost the state to BJP after 25 long years by a decisive margin. “The party office has basic amenities. Sarkar has relatives but preferred to stay here and contribute to the party. This is nothing exceptional. Most of our leaders lead a simple life,” Tripura CPM secretary Bijan Dhar said. Sarkar won his traditional stronghold, Dhanpur, but did not want to live at the MLAs’ hostel there. A tworoom flat on the top floor of the CPM office is his home now.
Sarkar, who does not own any property, had lived in the party office for a long time earlier. Former deputy CM Baidyanath Majumdar had done the same. Sarkar had donated his ancestral property to his sister. His wife owns real estate in the city but landed in a controversy after handing it to a builder for construction of an apartment. The building is still under construction. CM-designate Biplab Deb, however, said Sarkar, as a former CM, is entitled to “good government accommodation” and other “protocol amenities”. The leader of the opposition, too, will get the status of a cabinet-rank minister and be entitled to perks. “Other legislators can put up in hostels as of now. Improvements required for a VIP will be provided until the new MLA enclave comes up,” he added.
“We may have been elected to run the government, but I feel Manik Sarkar and his team have a big role to play in pursuing our dream of a new Tripura, ‘Ek Tripura Shresth Tripura’ (One Tripura, Best Tripura). BJP never equates government with the party,” Deb said.
