CM, Congress MLA Lock Horns Over DA Decision

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Agartala
• Mar 17, 2026
• 569

An acrimonious confrontation unfolded between Chief Minister Manik Saha and Congress legislator Sudip Roy Barman during the third day of proceedings in the Tripura Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, March 17, centering on the contentious issue of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for government employees and pensioners.
Raising the matter during Zero Hour, shortly after the Question Hour concluded, Roy Barman pressed the government to table the cabinet memorandum, seeking clarity on whether the purported 5 percent DA enhancement had, in fact, received formal cabinet sanction. He underscored that although a cabinet meeting had been convened prior to the presentation of the state budget, a meticulous scrutiny of budgetary documents—including the “Budget at a Glance” and detailed expenditure statements—revealed no reference to the proposed increment.
Casting doubt on the government’s claim, Roy Barman asserted that, based on his interactions with administrative officials during his tenure as a minister, there were indications that the DA proposal had not been deliberated upon in the cabinet. He cautioned that any discrepancy in this regard would constitute a grave affront to both the Council of Ministers and the legislative institution, should the Assembly have been misled.
“Parliamentary decorum cannot be invoked to suppress legitimate scrutiny. The House appears to have been misinformed. The assertion that the matter was discussed in the cabinet is categorically untenable. Such procedural impropriety must not be condoned. I demand that the cabinet memorandum be laid before the House,” Roy Barman stated, reiterating that, to his knowledge, the proposal lacked formal cabinet approval.
In a forceful rebuttal, Chief Minister Manik Saha categorically dismissed the allegations, maintaining that the decision had indeed been ratified by the cabinet in adherence to all prescribed legal and procedural norms. He further clarified that announcements pertaining to DA are not intrinsically contingent upon their explicit reflection in budget documents.
“The decision was duly taken by the cabinet, and all related documentation will be furnished in due course. There exists no direct correlative linkage between budgetary presentation and DA घोषणा. By advancing such allocation , you are effectively casting aspersions on established institutional processes. Such statements appear politically motivated and betray a lack of procedural understanding,” the Chief Minister asserted.
The sharp exchange injected palpable tension into the Assembly, underscoring deepening fissures between the ruling dispensation and the opposition over issues of transparency, procedural integrity, and governance accountability.