NOT a day has passed without at least one incident of violence against the Communists in the state since March 3 afternoon when the Assembly election results were announced and the BJP-Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) took to power.

Nandalal Debbarma, 81, a CPI(M) leader had donated a piece of his land at Veluarchar in Sonamura sub-division to construct CPI(M) local committee office. Seeing the office vandalised, the senior leader, rueing the loss, said that he would have taken a blow to his head instead of seeing the Party office destroyed by the BJP goons. The attackers have destroyed the Party office and broke the furniture leaving Nandalal in distress. 

Though Valuarchar of Boxnagar Assembly Constituency had CPI(M) candidate Sahid Chowdhury, a member of the Left Front cabinet elected this time, it was not spared by the BJP supporters.

The BJP-IPTF members' fascistic attacks have been going on unabated. While several hundred Party leaders and workers had to leave their houses under death threat, many of them had to flee the state. Some others are being confined to their houses and are not even able to go to the nearby markets due to the continuous death threats.

The BJP-IPFT is moving ahead with the only aim of immobilising the Left here. Celebrations of international days of importance like the May Day and the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx were also prevented by the BJP machinery.

For the first time in history, the people of Tripura are experiencing a lawlessness where even the fundamental rights are being denied to the public.

The Daily Desher Katha, the news paper of the Left is also under severe attack. All the transport depots have been captured by the right-wing activists and the paper distribution is being obstructed at various stations. Even the hawkers are being threatened not to sell the paper. On May 8, eight BJP hoodlums of Teliamura town had forced an agent of the Daily Desher Katha to burn all the copies of the daily.   

The attackers have not even spared a five-months pregnant woman from Nagbongshi village of Kamalpur subdivision. They vandalised houses in the village and physically tortured the 18-year-old, resulting in miscarriage. It was the first pregnancy of the Scheduled Caste woman and the doctors could not save it as the thrashings were severe, leaving her traumatised.  Similar horror was faced by another pregnant woman in Santirbazar sub-division. The BJP goons attacked the house of a local committee member of the Party and started beating his elder brother. To save the husband, his wife, a six-months pregnant woman came out of the house and she was beaten black and blue, leading to miscarriage.

The incident of AIDWA member publicly getting beaten up half-naked in Baisnabtilla, Amtali near Agartala has even gone viral on social media. Even though an FIR was filed against sixteen accused BJP members, not a single person named in the complaint has been arrested yet. Many more cases of rape and molestation have gone unreported across the state, according to sources.

The new BJP-IPFT rulers of Tripura have intensified attacks on Left party offices. Without giving prior notices or time to reply to notices or make alternative arrangements, the district administration started demolishing CPI(M) offices, trade union offices and a few Congress party offices using bulldozer machines since May 8th morning. Some of these offices are about 30-70 years old.

Not a single day’s work has been allotted under the MNREGA since the elections. Ration supplies have also been irregular causing a food crisis in both rural and urban areas.

In Rangajhari para of Laxmipur ADC village, under Gandacharra subdivision, Juddharam Reang (60) and his son Shala Mohan Reang (28) died of starvation. In some areas like Gandacharra, people held demonstrations in front of the Block Development Office demanding food and work to fight the prevailing starvation and semi-starvation conditions.

Social pensions introduced during the former Left Front government were suspended alleging irregularities. The CPI(M) has made it clear that an inquiry be instituted to check any irregularities and urged the government to issue social pensions without hindrances.

Two CPI(M) workers Rakesh Dhar and Ajendra Reang were murdered in the last two months. The BJP and the IPFT are severely pressurising elected members of Left Front of different local bodies to join them. Many elected members had to resign under threat and the day-to-day works of the local bodies have come to a standstill.

Meanwhile, common people are also becoming victims of frequent road blockades, in some areas where the violence is turning into ethnic clashes, further worsening law and order situation in the state.  

BJP-IPTF’s trail of destruction in the last two months

CPI(M) offices

110 - set on fire

241 -vandalized, looted

63 - forcefully occupied

52 - locked down

Trade union and mass organisation offices

5 -set on fire

6- vandalized,  looted,

154 - forcefully occupied

 3- locked down.

CPI(M) workers under threat

2- killed

591- physically tortured

28 - fractured head,  limbs.

Attack on worker’s properties

102 -houses set on fire

825- houses ransacked and looted

815- houses attacked

148- shops set on fire

18- shops looted

26-fisheries looted

3- fisheries poisoned

33-rubber plants set on fire

10- rubber plants damaged

44- vehicles wrecked