AGARTALA, Feb 11 � Former Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sahid Chowdhury, who was forced to quit from the Left Front Ministry in April 2008 for his alleged links with a hardcore HUJI activist Mamun Mian, will be re-inducted, official sources said on Saturday.
Chowdhury would be administered the oath of office at Raj Bhavan on Sunday by Governor DY Patil. Chowdhury, who also held the portfolio of Minority Affairs had resigned in April 2008 from the Cabinet following a controversy and adverse press reports that he had alleged links with a Bangladeshi arms dealer.
While Chowdhury�s alleged links with Bangladeshi arms dealer Mamun Mian have not yet been established, the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court here in 2010 sentenced Mamun to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for forging documents relating to his identity and also imposed a fine of Rs100,000.
Default in payment of the fine will lead to further imprisonment of one-and-half years. The issue has rocked State politics since 2008. Demands were raised from various quarters for Chowdhury�s induction in the Council of Ministers as there is no representation from the minority community in the Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.
According to political analysts, the move to re-induct Sahid Chowdhury is aimed to defuse resentment among people living in Muslim dominated areas. This will also serve the party�s quest to woo Muslim voters in the State which will go to polls early next year.
Chowdhury, 54, was elected to the Assembly in the February 2008 Assembly election from the Boxanagar constituency in West Tripura for the third time and became Cabinet Minister for the first time in March 2008.
