The Tripura Legislative Assembly witnessed a heated exchange on Tuesday during the third day of the ongoing budget session, with the government’s recent announcement of a 5 percent Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) hike coming under sharp scrutiny.
The issue surfaced during Zero Hour when a Congress MLA raised concerns over whether the DA increase had actually been approved in the cabinet meeting held prior to the presentation of the state budget. The legislator pointed out that key budget documents, including the “Budget at a Glance” and expenditure statements, did not mention the decision, leading to doubts about its procedural validity.
Alleging a lack of transparency, the Congress member demanded that the cabinet memorandum related to the DA hike be placed before the House. “The claim that the issue was discussed in the cabinet is absolutely false. I demand that the cabinet memorandum be placed before the House,” the MLA asserted.
The matter escalated further as opposition members suggested that if the Assembly had been misinformed, it would amount to disrespecting the Council of Ministers.
Responding firmly to the allegations, Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha dismissed the claims and maintained that the decision had indeed been taken following due process in the cabinet. He clarified that such announcements are not necessarily reflected in budget documents.
“There is no direct relationship between the budget and the announcement of DA. All rules and procedures have been followed,” the Chief Minister said, accusing the opposition of creating unnecessary controversy.
The debate has intensified political tensions in the Assembly, with the DA hike emerging as a key point of contention. The government is now expected to submit relevant documents before the House on March 25 to address the concerns and bring clarity to the issue.
