THE first session of the 14th Tripura state conference of the CITU at Ambassa was inaugurated by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and chief minister Manik Sarkar. Immediately after the inaugural address, general secretary Sankar Prasad Datta presented the draft political organisational report before the delegates.

While the draft political report touched the main directions of the international and national situations, it elaborately narrated the adverse impact of the neoliberal policies on lives and livelihood of working people mostly in unorganised sector. The report appreciated the performance of the Left front government for the welfare of the poorer strata. Those include, its unique achievement of making the state a cent percent literate, betterment of academic infrastructure, advancement of health services, introduction of 28 social pensions including the three from the central government, nationally admired excellent implementation of the MNREGA programme, development of state’s rail and road communication, turning the state into a power-surplus state and decentralisation of power to the democratically elected local bodies etc.

The report also dealt with the negative role of the opposition parties, namely BJP, RSS and the Congress. TMC, IPFT and INPT etc are frantically trying, firstly, to stall the development programmes and then to tarnish the image of the Left front government and its leaders with a totally false and fabricated campaign. IPFT has been demanding a separate state from carving out the existing ADC areas. Considering the state’s demographic and geographic condition, it is an absurd demand. All the other opposition parties extend cooperation to this parochial force with an aim to dislodge the Left front government.

In the draft organisational report, the resolution reviewed the implementation of some decisions adopted in the last conference and mentioned some achievements in organisational affairs. The report said, having hardly any organised sector in the state, we are to work mostly among the unorganised workers. It evolved some new forms of functioning in the unorganised sector in view of the changed political economic situation. The resolution reviewed functioning of committees at various levels right from state general council. The report elaborately informed the state of organisational affairs in each of the sub divisions of the state and as well as the affairs of each of the 42 trade-wise affiliate organisations. The resolution also dealt with some organisational drawbacks with suggestions to overcome them. The report stated that, the total enrolment in the year 2015 was 2,77,282 against 2,48,282 in the year 2013 on the basis of which last conference was held.

Out of 516 delegates who attended the conference representing 24 sub divisional committees, 43 including 15 women, participated in the discussions. The issues raised by the delegates were: abrupt demonetisation and its aftermath crisis engulfing the working people, amendments to the Labour Act in favour of the mill owners, provocative attempts to break the unity of workers, problems of service and social security of a large number of workers engaged as security guards and sweepers etc in private farms, non-cooperation of banks in lending loans to self-employed farms. Some comrades said that though the state transport is largely dependent on motor vehicles, hardly any of the motor workers have any contract letter. Nor do they have any service security. Some comrades pointed out the necessity of organising the workers in beauty parlour, catering services and the vending workers etc. Many delegates informed that divisive forces including the RSS and the BJP are trying to divide the workers on religious, ethnic and communal lines and stressed for intensified political campaign to expose these elements and preserve unity of workers at any cost. Some comrades mentioned the measures of the Left front government for the welfare of the various sections of the working people. Though these measures are not commonly present in any other state ruled by non-Left parties, but they don’t get proper publicity among the workers. Most of the delegates felt that still a large section of the workers are present either under opposition organisations or out of any organisational fold. CITU should reach out to them as early as possible.

All India general secretary of the CITU, Tapan Sen, addressed the conference on February 13. While hailing the performance of the Left front government, particularly maintaining a unique friendship and fraternal bond among the tribals and non-tribals, Hindus and Muslims unlike any other state in the North East region, Tapan Sen said that the political patrons of the capitalists exhibit before the people only their facades which are quite different from their real faces. Their real faces lie in neoliberal policies that are being implemented through uncontrolled price rise, privatisation, disinvestment, inviting FDI, tax waiver to the extent of thousands of crores of rupees to the big capitalists, imposing tax burden on the poorer sections, amendments to labour laws in favour of capitalists, withdrawal from social welfare, reducing access to public distribution system, gradual curtailment of any subsidy to the poor and downsizing of the government administration etc. Our task is to make the working people aware so that they are not allured by their facades, and help them recognise the real faces of the capitalists, Tapan Sen suggested.

The conference unanimously adopted four important resolutions namely, against anti-people policies of the central government, condemning baseless slandering by the opposition aimed at maligning the Left Front government, against communal forces, religious fundamentalism, and increasing intolerance and lastly the resolution resolving to form the eighth Left Front government in the state, frustrating all machinations of the opposition.

In the last session on February 14, 121-member state committee was elected unanimously amidst high applause. The newly elected state committee in its first meeting elected its 48-member working committee and 22-member state secretariat which re-elected Manik Dey, Pijush Nag and Sankar Prasad Datta as president, working president and general secretary respectively.

The CITU leaders including all India general secretary Tapan Sen and West Bengal CITU leader Dipak Dasgupta briefed the press in the afternoon and informed that the working people of Tripura have taken a determined resolve to intensify struggle to resist the anti-people measures of the BJP-led central government and re-establish the Left front government for the eighth term in the next assembly election scheduled to be held in early next year.