IT is really shocking that BJP national president J P Nadda, during his two-day visit to Tripura, could stoop so low to claim false credit of successes of his party-led government and spread a volley of falsehood to discredit the commendable achievements of 25 years rule of the Left Front. 

On August 29, Nadda addressed a rally in Khumulwng, where the TTAADC is headquartered, and thereafter addressed a press conference at the BJP state office in Agartala. On both occasions, he could not restrain himself from expressing anti-communist spite by distorting historic events. Sitting in between the current and former chief ministers, Nadda said all the 299 promises made by the BJP during the last assembly elections have been fulfilled in the state. What he did not clarify was if such were the government’s achievements, why they had to change the chief minister just eight months before the next assembly elections. 

Nadda claimed that the BJP is synonymous to tribal development and his party’s government in Tripura made a breakthrough in women’s rights and empowerment. He cited the construction of modern airport in Agartala, construction of ‘Maitri Setu’ (friendship bridge) to connect India with Bangladesh at Subroom of South Tripura, six national highways, granting of houses under PMAY, restoration of peace rescuing the people of Tripura from onslaughts of extremist outfits etc as achievements of the BJP government in Tripura. He also claimed that Tripura is now free from political violence and democracy is rolling on smoothly. 

Now let us see what the reality of all these so-called achievements is. 

TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT

 It is well documented in history how the communists fought the battle for implementation of tribal rights enshrined in the constitution, right from battle for tribal reservation in jobs and education, for restoration of alienated land to tribal owners that was illegally transferred overriding the law, for recognition of tribal language and most importantly, the heroic battles for establishment of the autonomous tribal council amidst stiff opposition from the Congress and vested interests. This historic battle was fought by the democratic masses of both tribals and non-tribals unitedly. By denying this history, Nadda is humiliating the people of the state. On the other hand, if such is the concern for tribals, can Nadda cite any instance where the BJP government had established single autonomous council for the tribals who account for about 10.5 crore population spread in various states, including those ruled by the BJP in India? On the contrary, the central government is contemplating to evict tribals from their ancestral land for the benefit for the corporates. 

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs, as claimed by Nadda, is of no use if there is no government recruitment. The BJP promised 50,000s jobs per year. In spite of a lot of posts in various government departments lying vacant, the government is either abolishing those posts or is getting the job done through outsourcing. The erstwhile Left Front government gave 50 per cent reservation for women in all local bodies, including in posts of office-bearers. It was the Left Front government which ensured free education for girls up to college level. In government recruitment, there was an optimum share of women.  

AGARTALA AIRPORT

On the question of construction of modern airport in Agartala, the DGCA had set a condition for the Left Front government that if additional land required for the extension of runway is acquired by the state government on its own, then they may take up the project. The Left Front government agreed with a condition. The land acquisition, bidding of construction agency and progress of about half of work for upgrading the Agartala Airport be completed by March 2018 during the Left Front regime. It took unusually long time by the BJP government to complete the remaining work which was done only in May this year. The BJP government has no credit for launching this modern airport in Agartala. 

MAITRI SETU

The construction of Maitri Setu was a project contemplated by Manik Sarkar, the then chief minister of Tripura, in 2010. After much persuasion and a lot of diplomatic exercise during the Manmohan Singh government, a bipartite agreement between India and Bangladesh was signed to construct the bridge over the river Feni at Subroom of South Tripura. The construction of the bridge started in 2015. Bidding of tender and three-fourth progress of work of the bridge was completed during the Left Front regime. The double engine BJP government took three years and completed the remaining construction work only last year. Though one-and-a-half years have elapsed after the inauguration of bridge, still it remains unused due to failure of the government to build infrastructure for setting up of international checkpost.

NATIONAL HIGHWAYS Nadda claimed that during the Left Front government there was only one NH in the state and now there are six. The fact is that all the six national highways were given recognition by the NHAI much before the BJP assumed power in 2018. Land acquisition for widening of roads was completed and handed over to the construction company by the Left Front government. A good progress was made in construction of all the roads during the Left Front regime. The hard reality is that currently, long strips of these roads are clad with mud, and not at all fit for vehicular movement. The NH-44, which is known to be the lifeline of the state, is now in very bad condition. Any time this lifeline could get blocked which will cause tremendous crisis in the state. During the Left Front regime, there was a wide network of all-whether village roads. Due to non-maintenance, most of the roads are currently unusable. In some places, there is no trace of the road.

PMAY: On the basis of 2011 economic survey, the central government sanctioned 1.5 lakh houses in Tripura under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in 2020. The Left Front government during its last tenure repeatedly pursued the BJP government to give sanction for the houses in phases, which it ignored. Ironically, the construction cost of each house, ie, Rs 1.3 lakh, estimated in 2011 remains the same in 2020. The cost of construction materials at present is almost double of that in 2011. The beneficiaries are in trouble to erect their houses. Besides, local BJP leaders are taking a cut of Rs 10,000 to 40,000 from each beneficiary under the PMAY.  

TACKLING EXTREMIST PROBLEM

The policy of the Left Front government in tackling the problem of extremism received nationwide appreciation. The policy was to persuade the parents and relatives of extremist cadets to impress upon their boys to abjure the barren path and return to normal life. This ideological campaign was combined with firm police action. By 2008, the extremist problem in the state was largely under control. Still the Left Front government declared that, as political patronisation was there behind this problem, it might not be wise to say the problem is over. Rather, it said, the extremists are alienated but not eliminated. As a recognition to this achievement in tackling the three-decade-long extremist problem without blood-shed and human rights violations, the then Congress-led central government conferred the President’s Colour to the Tripura Police in 2012. Now the extremists are again showing their fangs. Only recently, one BSF jawan was shot dead by extremists in Kanchapur of North Tripura. Denying this historical fact, Nadda did not feel ashamed to claim this to be the success of the BJP government. 

ATTACK ON DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE

Nadda said, unlike during the Left Front regime, the state is now a heaven of peace and best democracy is prevailing in the state. As regards to political violence, during the four-and-a-half years’ rule in Tripura, the BJP converted the state into a laboratory of political violence. Here no party except the BJP has the right to undertake any political programme without being attacked. There is not a single office of the opposition political parties that has been spared of frenzied attacks by BJP hoodlums including the state office of both the CPI(M) and the Congress. Free and fearless democratic exercise in the state is just impossible. Right to franchise was robbed in all the elections held under this regime, and fundamental rights and human rights are just denied. By and large, law and order in the state is in the hands of some miscreants wearing the label of ruling BJP. The police administration at the police station level is either inactive on complaints against the ruling party miscreants or overactive on the false cases framed by the ruling BJP targeting the opposition supporters, particularly the CPI(M). A complete lawlessness is prevailing in the entire state targeting the opposition supporters since March 3, 2018. The ruling BJP miscreants get a free hand to carry out rampant attacks, arson of houses and shops, looting of valuables, and attacks on the livelihood of opposition party supporters. Hundreds of CPI(M) leaders, workers, supporters have been subjected to physical assaults. Many of them got physically impaired.  In a word, Tripura, which was known to be a peaceful state, and admired for fraternal cohabitation of people cutting across various religions, ethnicity, caste and creed, the last 4.5 years of BJP rule has converted it into a house of furnace where sensible rational people feel suffocated. 

The political bias of the police administration has led to serious deterioration in general law and order situation in the state. Incidents like killing, unnatural death, kidnapping, rape and molestation of women, distress suicides and domestic disputes, theft, pilferage, robbery, looting, extortion, etc are on the rise. Recently thieves had even dared to take away hundreds of police files from the record room of the police headquarters!