People's Democracy

TRIPURA

Left Front Rally Exposes Militants And Their Mentors

SIGNALING a stern caution to the conspiracy of the Congress-INPT combine with an indomitable courage of conviction, the biggest ever rally in Agartala on September 14 underscored once again the never failing bond between the people of Tripura and the Left Front. Especially in the backdrop of the September 8 rally of the unholy alliance in the selfsame Astabal Maidan of Agartala, the people of Tripura made use of September 14 Left Front called rally as a mark of challenge, as it were against the ongoing heinous conspiracy of the militants and their mentors to usurp power in the assembly election of the state due in February next.

Innumerable massive meetings and marches statewide over the past fortnight built up the crescendo of mass movement to strengthen peace, harmony and integrity in the face of the unholy alliance between the Congress and the outlawed extremist organisation NLFT’s political wing, INPT and to press for legal step against INPT president Bijoy Hrangkhawl on charge of delivering an openly seditious speech in Geneva and for effective central assistance to combat insurgency in Tripura. The all-encompassing charge of the masses that deluged the state capital last afternoon, was the culmination of this phase of the state’s do-or-die struggle for its survival for the sustenance of its development process being carried out the Left Front government in the teeth of tremendous odds.

With the huge Assam Rifles ground being officially out of bounds for holding the rallies of common people, the Astabal Maidan, a fairly large space to such purpose proved absolutely inadequate to make room for the roaring waves of rallyists meandering into the Maidan from virtually all roads of the town. Three-fourth of the tribal and nontribal populace headed for the rally, failed to get a foothold in the rally ground. Even 4000 motor vehicles, big and small, drafted for transporting the rallyists from the four districts, over and above the innumerable marches from all over the state capital and its suburbs, failed to cope up with the huge demand of would-be rallyists to involve themselves in this landmark programme of the Left Front. Also, a part of the heinous conspiracy to derail democracy and democratic mass movement in Tripura, 638 vehicles carrying rallyists from North Tripura, led by two Left Front ministers, were blockaded with logs of trees fell from farms and forests and placed across the Assam-Agartala National High Way by miscreants at 35 spots of the Longthoroai Hills of Dhalai district, alongwith several chits threatening with death anyone clearing the log to join the rally. Undaunted by the advice of the patrolling CRPF to go back, in apprehension of live bombs that might have been placed with the road blocks, the rallyists themselves set about the task of clearing the highway and following this tiresome task of clearing highway two our and half in which the police and Tripura State Rifle joined hands after getting information, the rallyists of North Tripura arrived in the rally site about 5 pm three hours after the start of the rally programme.

The conspiracy to disrupt the rally also consisted of issuing open threats by extremists to intimidate the people, especially in the tribal belts, into steering clear of the Left Front rally, while at the same time forcing them at extremist gun point to board the vehicles to offload as many as people as possible at the imperialist-aided September 8 rally called by the Congress-INPT combine. Eyewitness account, however, estimates that the total turn out at the Congress-INPT rally could not exceed one forth of the total numbers of the Left Front rallyists who could make it to the Astabal Maidan and its adjoining roads last afternoon. This capital town had never seen such a sea of dashing but disciplined volleys of tribal and nontribal, men and women, pre-eminently young in age, shouting through the streets towards the Astabal Maidan vociferously committing themselves to throw the unholy alliance into political oblivion and build the 5th Left Front government.

Addressing the rally as chief speaker, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, chief minister Manik Sarkar, outlined the concrete and continuous steps taken by the fourth Left Front government to upgrade the standard of living of the state populace alongside those living below poverty line. He also pointed out that the solid successes of such steps over the last four years and a half in the spheres of housing, agriculture and animal resources development, drinking water supply, rural development including road construction, electrification, irrigation, self-employment schemes and rehabilitation of the landless. Lashing out at the BJP-led centre issuing dictates for the state government to curtail jobs under pain of drastic cut in the flow of central fund, Maink Sarkar declared to roaring cheers of the rallyists that the Left Front government shall never bow down to such blackmail and go on with new recruitments as well as several employment generation schemes. He made special mention of the ongoing implementation of the 25 point package of tribal development with the Left Front government’s commitment to earmark 50 per cent of the total plan allocation for development of the tribal areas which are in fact it hardest by violent extremist atrocities delaying such development. Referring to the state government’s special information to the centre regarding 51 extremist sanctuaries in Bangladesh territory, he maintained that no other government of the North-East has ever urged the centre to bust the sanctuaries and make over the extremist to the government of India. Expressing resentment over the centre fencing on its own. He lambasted the Congress for teaming up with the political mask of extremists instead of pressing for the return of all the army units withdrawn by the centre from Tripura and for adequate BSF personnel to combat trans-border terrorism. Refreshing the people’s memory of the 1988 usurpation of the state power by the Congress-led coalition making surreptitious use of Bijoy Hrangkhawl-led TNV extremists and the 5 year semi-fascist corrupt regime that followed, Manik Sarkar expressed confidence that the politically conscious people of the state have thrown the gauntlet to the blatantly opportunist Congress-INPT combine going all out to stage a repeat of 1988.

Addressing the rally, Left Front minister and party central committee member Aghore Debbarma reiterated his confidence that the Congress-INPT conspiracy will be foiled by the ideologically advanced people of Tripura even at the cost of their lives. In his presidential speech Left Front convernor and party state secretary Baidanath Majumdar urged the Congress supporters to be aware of the devastating treachery of the Congress leadership in its allying with extremists in Tripura while at the same time opposing terrorism and communalism in Delhi. CPI leader Sunil Dasgupta, Forward Bloc leader Brajagopal Roy and RSP state secretary Sudarshan Bhattacharjee also addressed the rally stressing the need for unity in defending democracy against the all out attack and forming the fifth Left Front government. (INN)