THE Delhi state units of the Left parties – CPI(M), CPI, AIFB, RSP, CPI(M-L) Liberation, SUCI (C) and CGPI held a demonstration at Sansad Marg on March 9 to protest against the unprecedented attacks on Left cadres and supporters in Tripura by the RSS-BJP following the recent assembly polls in the state.

Addressing the protestors, Prakash Karat, Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) said that these attacks were aimed at browbeating the Left parties and their supporters in Tripura. They constitute a heinous attack on democracy. The people of Tripura have a long tradition of struggle against oppression. They had fought against the feudal king of Tripura before Independence and helped build a strong base of the Left in the state. They also fought back the terror unleashed by the Congress state government between 1988 and 1993. Over 350 cadres of Left parties sacrificed their lives in this period. In 1993 the people of Tripura threw out the Congress and installed the Left Front government which lasted for 25 years.

The RSS-BJP has unleashed murderous violence against the Left after the Assembly elections. Over 600 supporters of the Left have been injured in these attacks. 1,539 houses of Left supporters have been attacked and 196 houses have been burnt down. 134 offices of the Party and mass organisations have been destroyed or ransacked and 600 offices have been forcibly occupied. Prakash Karat asserted that the Left will fight back these attacks as it has done in the past and will defeat the machinations of the RSS-BJP. He condemned the destruction of a statue of Lenin in Tripura as well as the defacement of statues of Periyar and Ambedkar and said that this indicated the anti-democratic character of the RSS-BJP. They are afraid of every symbol of the fight against oppression and exploitation. Prakash Karat demanded that Prime Minister Modi must take immediate steps to put an end to RSS-BJP attacks on Left supporters, their houses and offices in Tripura.

Others who addressed the gathering were D Raja (CPI), Amresh Kumar (AIFB), R S Dagar (RSP), Kavita Krishnan (CPI-ML) Liberation, Pran Sharma (SUCI-C) and Prakash Rao (CGPI).