AS the people of Tripura have been more and more expressly showing anger with new zeal against the BJP-IPFT misrule in Tripura, the BJP is continuing their state-sponsored despotic terror on the opposition parties, particularly the CPI(M), aiming to cripple its functioning and keep the Party immobilised.

BARBARIC ATTACK ON CPI(M) OFFICES

On February 23 last, at about 11.15 hours, a gang of BJP miscreants carried out a sudden attack on the North Tripura district office and the Dharmanagar Sub-Divisional office of the CPI(M) and extensively damaged and ransacked everything inside the office including several bikes, furniture, almirahs and Party documents. The ruling party miscreants also inflicted physical injuries to five Party leaders. Though complaints were lodged with the police mentioning names of the perpetrators, till now not a single culprit was booked. Since the BJP alliance came to power in March 2018, this is fifth such savage attack on this Party office. Next day, a delegation of Party state secretariat members led by Bijan Dhar, met in a deputation with Director General of Police and submitted a memorandum which substantially highlighted several incidents of attacks on the CPI(M) offices by the saffron brigade taking the scope of police inaction. This is an attack on the democratic right of a registered political party to carry on their political functioning freely. The memorandum demanded immediate arrest of the BJP attackers, setting up a permanent police picket to save this office from further attacks and arrangement of proper security for the district and sub-divisional committee Party leaders.

On February 18 at about 2.00 pm, when a meeting was in progress in the lawns of the Sepahijala district committee office of the CPI(M) at Bishalgarh, BJP goons hurled petrol bombs at the meeting place and caused injuries to several participants. Though the police were present beside the meeting ground, they had hardly made any attempt to arrest the culprits.

On February 22, BJP miscreants carried on an unprovoked physical attack at Sonai Market of Subroom Sub-Division, South Tripura on Dipak Dey, a CITU leader who was first admitted at Subroom Hospital and then referred to GB Hospital, Agartala. As the attackers are known BJP workers, naturally the police have not taken any legal step against them.

STATE CONFERENCE OF GMP

GMP, (Tripura Rajya Upajati Ganamukti Parishad) met in its 22nd state conference in a delighted mood in Agartala Town Hall on February 22-23, 2020. A pall of grief spread among the delegates when they came to know that their beloved leader and founder of the Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch passed away last night.  In the inaugural session of the conference presided by Jitendra Chowdhury, a resolution was passed paying homage to Comrade Bajuban Riyan. 

Brinda Karat, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, in her inaugural session speech said, this conference was being held when the country is passing through a deep crisis. Taking scope of brute majority, BJP-led government is passing one after another draconian laws. BJP-RSS are trying to implement their religious agenda through hate campaign. Tribal languages and culture etc are going to be assimilated. The BJP-RSS government has no interest to preserve and develop them. Dangerous amendment is being mooted to deny rights of the tribal people on forests. The pattas of 55 per cent of the tribal aspirants who, being traditional forest dwellers, had applied for pattas on forest land, are still pending. On the other hand, BJP filed a litigation in the Supreme Court seeking eviction of the tribals who had already got patta in forest land. The positive sign of the situation, Brinda Karat said, is that the people are more and more coming out in the streets protesting the anti-people measures of the government.  

Referring to Tripura, Karat said, commendable performance of the Left Front government was registered towards socio-economic upliftment of the tribals in the state. But the BJP-RSS government in its central budget allocated only 1.8 per cent for the tribals instead of their due 8.6 per cent according to population ratio. This has negative effect on the livelihood of the tribals in the country including Tripura, Brinda said. However adverse the situation may be, we must fight out this menace through strengthening the organisation, protecting tribal-nontribal unity and unity of the toiling masses, she called upon the conference.

Altogether 593 delegates representing from 23 Sub-Divisional committees attended the conference. One from each SDC took part in the discussion. Apart from the unprecedented nature of physical and mental terror let loose by the ruling party miscreants, the other issues the delegates highlighted in their deliberations include:  the acute food crisis, scarcity of rural work in the absence of MNREGA, migration of many youths from the state in search of job, despotic attempt of the ruling party to create inter-ethnic hostility etc. They also reported that there are large scale disillusionments about the present government due to its anti-people measures and attacks on democratic rights and the people are participating in the democratic movement in larger and larger numbers. Most of the delegates resolved to maintain lively contact with the masses defying red-eyes of the ruling party goons and strengthen the organisation to cope with the new situation.

The next day in the concluding session, a 137-member central committee and 25-member new working committee were unanimously elected in the conference. Jitendra Chowdhury and Radhacharan Debbarma were re-elected as president and secretary of the GMP. The newly elected president and secretary in their concluding address called upon the delegates to keep the flag of democracy high at any cost and being a responsible organisation, the GMP must gain trustworthiness of more and more people, of both tribal and non-tribal and, the youths who were misguided by the separate ‘Twipra Land’ slogan must be won over with reasons and logic. We must expose the role of fake tribal-lovers. 

The conference in a resolution called upon the people in the TTAADC areas to vote for the Left Front candidates in the ensuing TTAADC election.

BIGGER MOVEMENT OF YOUTHS

As part of the all India youth programme, DYFI and TYF (Tribal Youth Federation) jointly launched a bigger movement in the state against anti-unemployed policies of the government in the form of district and sub-division level rallies, marches and mass-stay-ins etc from February 10-20, 2020. Apart from the demand for withdrawal of CAA, NRC, the other demands were: filling up of all vacant posts in the central and state government, stop contractual appointments, urgently issue appointment letters to the TET-passed candidates in Tripura. In some sub-divisions, the police did not allow the youths to carry on with their programme. The programme received good response from the youths of the state.

WOMEN’S MOVEMENT

Protesting against the escalating incidents of ghastly attacks on women in the state, anti-people central budget and demanding withdrawal of CAA, NRC, the AIDWA Tripura state committee organised statewide mass-stay-in and procession throughout the state. In Agartala there was a huge gathering of the women. In 16 places, mass-stay-in programme was implemented. In other places there were processions of women. Women leaders explained the divisive effects of CAA, NRC in the country, anti-people aspects of the central budget and condemned the increasing number of attacks on women in the state.