Agartala: Tripura parliamentary affairs minister Ratan Lal Nath said on Friday the state govt is dedicated to providing employment to family members of those who lost their lives due to political violence over the past three decades.Speaking at a media conference, Nath said, “To date, we have received 38 applications, granted jobs to 18 individuals, and have 11 names currently under consideration. Five petitions were rejected due to insufficient evidence of a political context, while four remain under investigation.”The minister recalled that prior to the BJP-led govt, numerous political homicides took place under the communist rule for 25 years. He said that from 1993 to 2017, a staggering 15,589 murders occurred, with hundreds classified specifically as political killings in Tripura, but no satisfactory action has been taken by the then administration.Following the formation of BJP govt, it was decided to offer govt jobs to qualified family members of victims of political violence, the minister said. A scheme title, ‘Scheme for Providing Employment to Members of Families of Persons Killed in Political Violence’, was launched in Dec 2020. Initially, it covered employment for families of victims till Feb 2018. But later the scheme was revised by the cabinet to remove the date restriction, Nath said.“There are certain protocols in place. We need to determine whether a murder is indeed political in nature; thus, a police report is essential, along with a comprehensive inquiry to verify the qualifications of any family members,” Nath said. After gathering all necessary reports, a scrutiny committee, comprising secretary of law, director of information, IG of police, and a home department representative, was formed.Nath acknowledged the difficulties faced during the Left Front era, noting many incidents lacked proper documentation or police records.“We approach cases of political murder without bias towards any party, be it BJP, CPIM, or Congress. Each case is evaluated with the utmost seriousness,” he added.
