THE Tripura Tapasili Jati Samanway Samiti organised a state-level convention in Agartala on September 1. It has been decided to organise a mass deputation to the governor on a nine-point demands on September 21.

The convention was addressed by  CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Manik Sarkar and general secretary of Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch, Ramchandra Dom. General Secretary of Tripura Tapasili Jati Samanway Samiti, Sudhan Das placed the charter of demands, which included stopping atrocities on dalits, enhancement of allocations for SC welfare in central budget, filling up of vacant posts in government departments, speedy payment of stipends to SC students, establishing rule of law, ensuring public safety and security, putting a stop on murder of democracy, atrocities on women, giving social pension at Rs 2000 per month, increasing wage in MGNREGA to Rs 340 a day, and revoking the draconian ESMA. President of Tripura Tapasili Jati Samanway Samiti, Ratan Bhowmik presided over the convention. 

Addressing the convention, Manik Sarkar said that though the Modi-led BJP has returned to power for a second term using the incidents of Pulwama and Balakot, they didn’t get support of the majority of the masses. They are now trying to consolidate this jingoism to mount further attacks on the secular principles of India. Attacks on minorities and dalits are on the rise. The first budget of this BJP-II government has nothing for the workers, peasants, dalits, tribals or the common people.  Rather, the PSUs are being sold out to the cronies as a payback of the huge amount spent during the election. As many as 44 PSUs have been selected for wholesale privatisation. But the workers are not silent. The continuous strike in the ordnance factories has compelled the government to bow down. So, it is evident that people won't take these assaults lying down.

In Tripura too, people have started realising the real character of the BJP. There are reports of starvation deaths, people are selling their children because of poverty. What happened to the promise of filling up 52,000 vacant posts? Rather, the employed are fearing job loss. The rights that the Left Front government had ensured are being snatched away. Elections have been reduced to a farce. Sarkar said mere unity of the dalits will not be sufficient to meet the challenges. A greater democratic unity of the masses from the rural level is the need of the hour.

Ramchandra Dom said the Sangh Parivar and BJP are launching attacks on the constitutional rights to destroy the democratic environment. In Tripura too, the people are now able to see how social and democratic rights are being attacked and personal liberty is being curbed. The RSS wants a Hindu Rashtra based on Manusmriti. They are trying to divide people on communal and caste lines to further their agenda of polarisation. There are increased incidents of mob lynching and honour killings on one hand and the rights of the working class are being thrown away on the other. Those who are getting retrenched because of economic slowdown are mostly dalits. The problems of the dalits therefore, he said, cannot be solved by looking at it from a sectarian outlook. There must be a united democratic movement against economic exploitation and social oppressions.