Jobs, food, health matter more than Kokborok Roman script debate: Manik Sarkar

Former Tripura chief minister and veteran CPI(M) leader Manik Sarkar on January 19 said that pressing socio-economic issues such as employment, food security, education and healthcare were being sidelined amid the growing movement demanding recognition of the Kokborok language in Roman script.
Sarkar was speaking at a discussion organised to mark the 48th Kokborok Language Day here.
Referring to the upcoming elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), Sarkar said the council was nearing the completion of its five-year term and that the polls were a constitutional exercise, not merely a local body election.
“The Left Front had fought hard for the establishment of district council elections,” he said.
He questioned how the BJP-led state government and the Tipra Motha Party, which heads the TTAADC, planned to address unresolved issues, including unpaid pensions of retired district council employees.
“Even after the Tripura High Court directed the clearance of all dues with nine per cent interest, the payments have not been made,” Sarkar alleged.
Highlighting worsening socio-economic conditions in the state, Sarkar said unemployment, poverty, malnutrition and the migration of youth in search of work had increased in recent years.
“Young men and women are leaving Tripura for jobs that barely cover rent and food. Many have died while working outside the state, and their families face difficulties in bringing back the bodies,” he said.
The former chief minister also criticised the state government for what he termed as its failure to maintain basic infrastructure and public services, including electricity, roads, education, healthcare and irrigation.
“Earlier, Tripura used to earn around Rs 70–80 crore daily by selling electricity to Bangladesh. Today, frequent power outages, disrupted healthcare services and the shortage of basic medical supplies in government hospitals have become common,” he said.
Sarkar asserted that the real concerns of Tripura’s people were jobs, food, education and healthcare, and not the debate over the Roman script of the Kokborok language.
He further accused the Tipra Motha of creating divisions within tribal communities and alleged that the BJP was fuelling communal tensions to divert public attention from core issues.
“The government is creating confusion by focusing on trivial matters. The Left Front must highlight the real issues and organise larger movements in the coming days,” Sarkar added.