AGARTALA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Tripura to open the newly built Regional Cancer Treatment and Research Centre here and a few other developmental projects in the state, sources in the state administration said on Friday.During his meeting with the PM in Parliament House on Thursday, chief minister Biplab Deb formally invited him to the state.Modi will address a rally and hold meetings with state cabinet members and top BJP officials during his visit, sources said. The visit is likely to be towards the end of January or in the beginning of February, they added. Party sources said BJP national president Amit Shah will attend a rally in the state prior to Modi’s visit, on January 5. He is also scheduled to hold meetings with party leaders regarding preparations for the upcoming general election, which is slated for early next year.The chief minister on Thursday met Prime Minister Modi seeking a special grant to tide over the ongoing financial crisis and assistance to make Tripura a model state by 2021-22. Officials stated that Deb apprised the PM of the extensive efforts being made to develop a model state in the next three years. Deb informed Modi that all flagship schemes of the Centre have been implemented in the state to ensure that fruits of development reach everyone, they said. Steps for developing healthcare, education, infrastructure and income generation were also discussed.The chief minister also sought a grant of Rs 750 crore from the Centre, in continuation of the sanction of Rs 750 crore made in September this year. A special plan assistance of Rs 358 crore to complete 81 unfinished projects was also requested.Deb also sought the intervention of the Prime Minister in the matter of the steadily declining air fleet in Agartala and the recent withdrawal of a few Indigo and Spicejet flights from the sector. Explaining the inconvenience faced by people of the state due to insufficient flights, Deb sought an amendment to the existing aviation guidelines to facilitate operators to increase their fleets in the northeast. Earlier, it was mandatory that flight operators operate 10% of their flights to the northeast, but this was reduced to 6% in 2016 and three more states were added to the northeast sector, Deb explained.According to officials here, the Prime Minister assured Deb of continuing support of the central government to Tripura on all the issues raised by him. Later, he held a meeting with Union finance minister Arun Jaitely, where also Deb was assured financial support for the development of the state.In the afternoon, the chief minister called on Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar and sought his support for the development of the state’s education scenario. The chief minister was informed that the ministry has already granted a one-time relaxation in qualifying marks and exemption of professional qualification for recruitment of teachers, the necessary notification for which will be issued soon. Deb also met NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar and held discussions on various development projects.Speaking on the Rafale deal, Biplab Deb said, “It appears that Rahul Gandhi and his party wanted to stop procurement of defence equipment to help some outsiders at the cost of India’s security.”

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