THERE has been a red tsunami at Agartala on January 29, the day of the public rally held on the occasion of the opening of 24th state conference of CPI(M) in Tripura. People from all corners of the state thronged the streets of the state capital and virtually painted the city red with fluttering red flags, banners, festoons, and balloons. This spectacular sight was ensured in spite of the fact that the BJP tried every dubious technique to prevent people from coming to the rally.

First it was the state government that tried to stop the public rally. The government was approached by CPI(M) more than a month before, with a request to allow the spacious Vivekananda Maidan for holding the public rally. At that time, there was no programme of the government or any other party scheduled for the day on that ground. This is the ground, where major political parties hold public meetings. But instead of allowing permission to the CPI(M), the state government hastily decided to hold a government programme on the ground, thereby rejecting the request of the Party. Subsequent approach of the Party to allow the spacious ground of the Umakanta Academy too was rejected on the pretext that it was adjacent to a school. Even the permission to hold the rally at Orient Chowmuhani, the third option, was communicated just 20-22 hours before.

After such dillydallying on the part of the government, the hoodlums of BJP were brought into action. At many places they started threatening people with a diktat not to attend the rally. They set up road blocks on the morning of the rally at many places to stop vehicles from plying. At Dharmanagar, there was road blockade from 4 am to 7 am, as a result of which, no vehicle was there on the road. This was done to prevent passengers from reaching the station in time to board the 6 am local train so as to reach Agartala to attend the rally. At almost all places, BJP goons obstructed the vehicles, forcing even the common passengers to suffer badly. In sub-divisions like Kamalpur, Amarpur, Udaipur, Khowai, Bishalgarh etc, all types of vehicles were stopped from plying. Vehicles coming from South Tripura were stopped at Udaipur and kept there till rally timings were over. This resulted in deep discontentment among the common people. At many places including Khumulwng, Manubazar etc, people coming for the rally were attacked with sharp weapons. Many of them had serious injuries requiring medical treatment. 

In spite of all such attacks unleashed by the bankrupt politics of the BJP, people reached Agartala in huge numbers and marched to the venue of rally. The stage was erected at Orient Chowmuhani, the crossing point of four major roads. All four roads were filled up by people, who stayed right to the end of the meeting and listened to the leaders with attention. At around 12.30 pm, Party leaders arrived on the dais. There were Prakash Karat, Central Comittee Co-ordinator, Manik Sarkar, Polit Bureau member, Jitendra Chaudhury, state secretary, R Arun Kumar, Central Secretariat member, Rabin Deb, Aghore Debbarma and Narayan Kar, all Central Committee members, and Badal Chowdhury, state secretariat member, present on the dais. The public meeting was presided over by Aghore Debbarma.

While addressing the rally, Prakash Karat saluted the fighting spirit of the people. Recollecting from his memory, he mentioned that he had the opportunity of attending last 10 state conferences of the Party in Tripura. Every time the state conference began with a big public rally at Vivekananda Maidan. This is the first time that the government did not permit to have the rally on that ground. He said this is the true character of the BJP. Even their DNA is allergic to democracy. This is evident from the fact that the ruling BJP tried their best to prevent people from coming to the rally. But the people of Tripura defied their efforts to make the rally a mammoth gathering. Karat mentioned, the Modi government has been relentless in its efforts to destroy democracy in the whole country. Before the last general election, two sitting chief ministers, Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi and Hemant Soren of Jharkhand were arrested and put into jail by the Modi government. They have institutionalised the dubious technique of lodging false cases against opposition leaders and ministers and putting them into jail.  The Modi government is actually supported on two pillars, one of RSS and Hindu supremacy, the other of the corporates. Fiscal policy of the country is being regulated by the government to serve the interests of the corporates resulting in inequality rising to a obscenely high level. Only 1 per cent of the population (the richest) owns 40 per cent of the total national wealth. In Tripura, the interior areas, where there is more tribal population, do not get regular supply of food grains and other essential commodities on PDS. The state government is indifferent to the misery of common people. He told that, CPI (M) would intensify the ongoing statewide movement on people’s demands.

Manik Sarkar, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, gave a call for intensifying the ongoing struggle against the anti-people government. He called the BJP-led government as an enemy of the people. The union government is working relentlessly to serve the interest of a few crony capitalists. Interests of common people has no place in this government’s agenda.

Jitendra Chaudhury, CPI(M) state secretary, narrated in detail how the government and the ruling BJP made an all-out effort to prevent the rally from happening. He congratulated the people for their steely resolve and making the rally a grand success. He asked, “Why is the BJP so afraid of CPI(M)? Leaders of the ruling party proudly claim to have wiped out CPI(M) from the state. If this is the case, why are they so fearful of CPI(M)? In fact they know very well that CPI(M) cannot be demolished. He also criticised the Tipra Motha saying that this outfit is only to mislead the tribal people. He made a call to the people to raise voice boldly against the misdeeds of the government.

Aghore Debbarma, presiding over the meeting made a similar call to the people to come out firmly against the anti-people BJP. The rally ended on an enthusiastic note and provided an ideal start to the 24th state conference of CPI (M).akes...