Tripura Opposition leader accuses BJP of politicizing job fairs, questions transparency in recruitment

Tripura Assembly’s Leader of Opposition and CPI(M) legislator Jitendra Chaudhury on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Manik Saha and the ruling BJP, accusing them of using government recruitment drives as political leverage ahead of polls.

Chaudhury’s remarks came just a day after Chief Minister Saha handed over appointment letters to 228 newly recruited teachers in the elementary education sector. Terming the event a political spectacle, the Left leader alleged that the presence of top state leaders at such programmes was intended to extract political mileage and sway public sentiment.

“If the recruitment process was as transparent as the chief minister claims, then why are ministers required to distribute appointment letters? Earlier, such letters were sent directly by the department heads or through postal services,” Chaudhury said. He dismissed allegations that, during the Left Front’s rule, appointment letters were distributed from CPI(M) party offices. "We strongly object to such unfounded claims. Recruitment was conducted properly under our regime," he asserted.

Further intensifying his criticism, the CPI(M) politburo member raised concerns over reports that job aspirants from outside Tripura—including West Bengal’s Nadia district and Assam’s Dhubri—were allegedly given state government jobs. “How did candidates from other states get employment here if the BJP government is truly maintaining transparency in recruitment?” he questioned.

Chaudhury also pointed out what he termed as the government’s misplaced celebration over the appointment of only 228 teachers, highlighting that youth organizations like the DYFI have flagged over 20,000 vacancies in the Education Department alone. He further claimed that the total number of vacancies in the state’s government sector stands at 51,000—figures, he said, that were tabled in the assembly by ministers themselves.

Slamming the BJP government’s recruitment policy, the veteran Left leader called for a fair, transparent, and large-scale hiring drive to address the state’s rising unemployment crisis.