TRIPURA ELECTIONS

 A Courageous Battle Against Terror

Prakash Karat

THE election campaign for the Tripura assembly elections is in full swing, with the state going to the polls on February 26. After the first phase of the campaign, two things have become clear. Firstly, the nexus between the Congress-Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT)-National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) has been thoroughly exposed for what it is.  Secondly, the popular support for the CPI(M) and the Left Front, which enabled it to win the 1993 and 1998 assembly elections, remains undiminished.

CONGRESS-INPT DESPERATION

The Congress-INPT alliance is doing its utmost to see that the peaceful atmosphere in the state is disturbed.  For this to happen, they want the NLFT to have a free hand to conduct its terroristic activities. There can be no other explanation for the unprecedented step taken by the Congress-INPT leadership in demanding that the Tripura State Rifles (TSR), the paramilitary police force of the state, be not deployed for any election related duties. The TSR is the most effective force against the violent activities of the NLFT and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), which are both banned organisations. The Congress-INPT leadership, led by Mani Shankar Aiyar, the AICC general secretary, submitted a memorandum to the governor and represented to the Election Commission that not only the TSR but certain senior police officers be also divested of their responsibilities. To demand that such a force be not deployed at the time of elections is to allow a free run for the armed gangs which operate in the tribal areas.

The charge that the TSR and certain officials are acting at the behest of the CPI(M) is nothing but slander. The TSR battalions have been raised with the concurrence of the central government over the years. Some of them are India Reserve Battalions (IRB) whose raising has been funded by the central government. The recruitment to this force is through a selection board which include a representative of the central paramilitary forces. In the IRB, 25 per cent of the recruitment is from outside the state. Since the TSR is the force spearheading the operations against the extremist groups, the INPT, which is a front of the NLFT, has been vocal in trying to denigrate this force. It is shocking that the Congress party, represented by its all-India general secretary, also echoes this stand. This is a graphic illustration of how low the Congress has fallen in its bid to dislodge the Left Front from office. 

The CPI(M), during the election campaign, has further  provided sufficient evidence and details about the links of the Congress-INPT leaders with the NLFT. Meetings between INPT leaders with the NLFT near the Bangladesh border have been cited. Specific details have been given about where the meetings took place and between whom. 

For the Congress leadership, which has been denying all through that Bejoy Hrangkhawl does not harbour any separatist sentiments, the speech made by him at Ampi on February 4 should prove highly embarrassing. In his speech, Hrangkhawl reiterated that after the elections, if the Congress-INPT combine wins, “swadhin Tripura” would be formed. 

UNDWINDLED SUPPORT FOR LEFT FRONT

Having spent three days in Tripura during the campaign, we could see the massive popular support for the CPI(M) and the Left Front. The attendance in the public meetings and rallies and the enthusiasm of the common people for the Party and the Left indicate that the "anti-incumbency" factor will not operate in Tripura, just as it did not in West Bengal. Since 1978, except for the five-year period after the 1988 elections, when the Congress was able to manipulate the polls after declaring the whole state a disturbed area and resorting to widespread rigging, the Left Front government has been continuously in office, having won four times. 

If elected this time, the Left Front government would be returning to office for the fifth time. It is widely accepted that Tripura is the best administered state in the north-east. The performance of the government headed by Manik Sarkar during the past five years has earned the support and respect of wide sections of the people. The state has recorded an increase of 14.85 per cent in per capita income and 14.95 per cent in its GDP from 1998 to 2000. Rice production went up by 13.5 per cent in the same period. It has the best record of utilisation of funds under the plan outlay and the centrally sponsored schemes in the whole north-east.

It is to thwart the popular will that the spate of killings and individual assassinations of the CPI(M) leaders and cadres are taking place. What is heinous is the constant effort by the Congress to blame the CPI(M) for the violence taking place, while it is the CPI(M) men and women who are being targetted and brutally gunned down.

From the date of announcement of the elections to date (February 18), 30 CPI(M) members and supporters have been killed. They include the 11, belonging to the Bengali community, who died in the mass killing at Bankimnagar in Jirania. The rest are all tribal activists and family members.

SAGA OF COURAGE  AND DETERMINATION

When the elections are over, what will stand out is the quiet courage and determination of the hundreds of CPI(M) cadres and activists, particularly those living in the remote tribal areas. They are working for the party, the Gana Mukti Parishad or the Nari Samiti, with the full knowledge that they or their family can be attacked any time. Death is a constant companion; yet they are unflinchingly carrying the message of the party to the people. It is difficult to describe the sacrifices made by innumerable such comrades. A few recent cases are being mentioned here to illustrate the odds against which they are fighting.

(1) In Takarjala constituency, Kalchandra Debbarma, an 80 years old veteran GMP activist, and his 5 years old granddaughter were murdered by the NLFT killers who came looking for his nephew Budhu Debbarma for his ‘crime’ of joining the CPI(M) candidate's procession for filing nomination.

(2) Subhash Barma, 15 years old son of Rabi Barma, a CPI(M) supporter, was taken away and killed on February 12. The crime they committed was the participation of the whole family in the Left Front's rally at Maharanipur in Khowai.

(3) Bikramda Tripura, a branch secretary of the party, was shot dead at Natun Dalapatpara in Gandachhara by the NLFT. In the same area, Rajendra Tripura, a staunch party supporter of Taraban Colony, was dragged to a nearly jungle and butchered by NLFT.

(4) Aswani Kumar Chakma, a party member of Manikpur, was shot dead for his active role in the Chawmanu assembly constituency. In the same area, Kinadhar Chakma, another party member, was shot dead in his house as a punishment for the local people’s non-participation in an INPT rally.

The roll of honour goes on, and the party in Tripura should pride itself for having produced such courageous and dedicated cadres.   

The will of the majority of the people of Tripura is pitted against the terror machine at the disposal of the Congress-INPT combine. In the last phase before the February 26 poll, there will be attempts to escalate the violence and engineer ethnic clashes. These diabolic plans have to be foiled and the people allowed to freely exercise their choice. If that is done, there is no doubt that the Left Front will be voted back with popular acclaim.