THE massive rally held at Vivekananda Maidan (Astabol Ground) in Agartala town on October 21, at the call of the CPI(M), threw a challenge to the authoritarian BJP rule in the state.

The rally was presided over by Aghore Debbarma, Central Committee member of the Party and it was addressed by CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Polit Bureau member Manik Sarkar and CPI(M) state secretary and Central Committee member Jitendra Chaudhury. 

BJP’S PLOT TO FOIL THE RALLY

BJP used its government machinery both in the state and at the centre, leaving no stone unturned to prevent the mobilisation of people. But the people, with unyielding determination, attended the rally in big numbers. 

Prior to the rally, BJP’s bike-ridden miscreants threatened most of the CPI(M) supporters going house to house against joining in the CPI(M) rally on October 21. They directed all the small and big vehicle owners in all the sub-divisions not to come out on road on October 21 so that the intending participants in the CPI(M) rally cannot move. 

A bandh-like situation was created in Subroom, Belonia and Santirbazar sub-divisions. Ostensibly, the bogies in Agartala-Subroom train were reduced by half on October 21. In several places, BJP staged road blockades to stop the people from joining the rally.

Two vehicles with people going to the rally were high-jacked and participants were beaten up. Even while the rally was going on, cellphone signal jammers were activated on the rally ground and surrounding areas to block social media and net connection.

Sensing the BJP’s plot to scuttle plying of vehicles on that day, determined people started moving for Agartala on the previous day. Many of them had to take lodge in the houses of relatives and friends. Party state committee had to arrange night-stay and food for several thousand participants. 

Failing to restrain the zeal of the determined people from massively joining in the rally, the frustrated BJP goons carried out cowardly attacks on the participants on their way back in Bishalgarh, Santirbazar, Belonia, Udaipur, etc., and raided many houses of leaders and workers of the Party in many places in several sub-divisions.  

Congratulating the heroic masses who attended the rally despite the disruptive BJP forces, Sitaram Yechury said, people’s wrath against the BJP is mounting in the country and BJP’s position in Gujarat is also worsening. To get rid of the anger of the Gujarat people, they are resorting to alluring them with false solace on the eve of elections which was scheduled to be declared with Himachal Pradesh. 

Elaborating on the corporate-friendly, anti-people, communal role of the BJP-led government at the centre, he said, corporate loans to the extent of Rs11 lakh crore have been waived off; unemployment has risen to 3 per cent within 19 days in October, BJP can boastfully claim that even if they are defeated in the election, they will form the government as they shamelessly did in Goa, Karnataka, and Manipur. 

The government is supposed to act like a manager and caretaker of the public sector but instead, it is selling the people’s properties, one after the other. If this is the case, it is only obvious that the manager must be sacked, Sitaram said. He added that the BJP is fomenting religious hostility between Hindus and Muslims to hide their misdeeds. 

Sitaram said the victory spree of the BJP would be halted by twin instruments, hammer and sickle symbolising the unity of workers and peasants. Referring to the age-old unique tribal-non-tribal amity, unity and communal harmony of the state, he emphasized the protection of this bright heritage of the state against all sorts of provocations to break it.

Manik Sarkar in his address said, the BJP-led government has shown mal-performance in all sectors. On the other hand, the government has imposed further economic burdens in the form of price hikes, devaluation of rupee, increase in tax, cess etc., on the already pauperised people due to Covid.  BJP feels comfortable to forget the ‘Vision Document’ wherein they charted up their electoral promises. The voice of aggrieved people could not be muted. To suppress opposition voice and resentment, they resorted to ruthless attacks on democracy, unleashed terror and intimidation, tried to make the opposition parties immobilised, denied democratic rights, fundamental rights, human rights, and kept the constitution defunct in the state. 

Manik Sarkar gave a call to get rid of the government that is suffocating its people and said that a government alienated from the masses has no other alternative but to hatch a conspiracy to deny democracy and all legitimate rights of the people. He noted that it is not just the CPI(M) that is the victim but all the opposition parties and their innumerable supporters are targeted in the same way. It is the need of the hour that all the opposition parties make a united move at least for the restoration of democracy, for protecting the right to vote, for preserving the high tradition of communal and ethnic amity and harmony and above all to save the state from doom, he said.

In this respect, Manik Sarkar clarified that this united move of the opposition, would not be diluted to be an electoral alliance or understanding. During the election, each of the parties will pursue their own policies, fight the election on their own programme and tactics, and maintain their individual entity. But the individual standpoint of each party would be of no use if people’s verdict is robbed by the muscle power of the ruling parties and the democratic rights are just denied, Manik Sarkar argued. 

Party state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury said that BJP committed countless sins against the people of the state in the last 55 months of its rule here. None including workers, peasants, unemployed youth, tribal jhumias, employees, doctors, nurses, advocates, traders, media persons and intellectuals is spared from the burns of the black rule of the BJP. He said that the chief minister has surpassed his predecessor in committing misdeeds.  He called upon the people to uproot this tyrannical rule in a democratic way. Referring to the BJP’s national president J P Nadda’s claim of implementing more than 100 per cent of the election promises, he made an open challenge to the chief minister to publish a white paper on the BJP rule and let the people decide. 

Ridiculing the propaganda hype on the so-called ‘Sushashan’ launched by the BJP, Jitendra Chaudhury said, from a chief minister who is known to have won the election by rigging, at least none can expect ‘Sushashan’ from him. He converted all the block offices into dens of loot. He humiliated the president of the country by making her inaugurate various half-done and already-running projects. 

Presiding over the rally, Aghore Debbarma said the rally heralded a message that the brute forces cannot sustain their terror rule forever. We have no room to be complacent. We have to confront many more attacks and conspiracies in the coming days, he said.