Agartala, June 23: Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar today gave a clean chit to state health minister Keshab Majumder saying that there was no truth in the allegations of financial irregularities committed by his ministry. The opposition Congress and BJP had alleged financial irregularities involving crores of rupees of central funds in societies overseen by the health department.

They charged that Majumder was made the chairman of the societies and put his signatures in cheques for withdrawal of money violating central guidelines.

A press statement issued from the office of the chief minister said his attention has been drawn to certain reports about allegations of irregularities in the functioning of societies under the health and family welfare department. While the central guidelines envisage that the commissioner or the secretary may be the chairman of the societies, in the light of experience gained in the working of some of the societies it was decided by the department that the societies should be chaired at a higher level in order to make them more effective and decision-making faster, it said.

Accordingly, the minister had been made the chairman of most of the societies and in all these cases except one, the Centre was informed of the composition of the societies and no objection had been raised. Bureau Report