People's Democracy

Hrangkhawl Spews Venom To Trigger Ethnic Tension 

IN a blatant bid to bring about what may be termed as a north-eastern equivalent of the Modi-fication of Gujarat, Bijoy Hrangkhawl is now busy spewing ethnic venom during his poll campaign --- in a bid to spark ethnic tension and provoke ethnic polarisation for political gains. Hrangkhawl is president of the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) that is the Congress party’s politico-electoral ally in the state. More, it was the same Hrangkhawl who earlier headed the Tripura National Volunteers (TNV), an extremist organisation that later made a mock show of surrendering weapons and coming overground. While a wing of the TNV remained underground and functions under the name of National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), the overground wing re-christened itself as Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT). Soon after the IPFT captured the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (ADC) in May 2000 elections with the help of NLFT guns, the Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti (TUJS) disbanded itself and merged with the IPFT. It was thus that the INPT came into being.

After certain Congress leaders refused to provide manpower for his motorcade on his way to filing nomination papers, Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl reiterated his separatist goal in his February 4 election meeting at Ampi under Amarpur subdivision in South Tripura. As already reported and commented upon in these columns, he had set forth the same goal in a written speech delivered by him at Geneva in July last. 

In a fit of racist rage, Bijoy Hrangkhawl roared in his election meeting: “The opposition of the Bengalis has so far stood in the way of fulfillment of our goal of ‘free Tripura’ for the Tripuris. Once the Congress-INPT combine wins the ensuing assembly polls, ‘free Tripura’ shall be formed.” The Congress-INPT combine’s candidate for Kulai (ST reserved) constituency in Dhalai district and the father of all terrorism in Tripura, Bijoy Hrangkhawl churned out ethnic hysteria in his speech, saying “ I don’t care about polling Bengali votes, nor about Bengali supporters for my poll campaign. Let me grab power and I will teach them a proper lesson.”

Apprising the Election Commission of these utterances, the CPI(M) state committee has urged the commission to take appropriate action against Bijoy Hrangkhawl for spreading ethnic hatred and trying to trigger ethnic tension through his poll campaign. In a letter sent to the chief election commissioner on February 7 on behalf of the party, the CPI(M)’s Central Committee member Bijon Dhar enclosed therewith the clippings of relevant reports, with quotations from his election speech, published in the February 5 and 6 issues of two local newspapers to corroborate the CPI(M)’s allegation about Bijoy Hrangkhawl. Bijon Dhar maintained in his letter that Bijoy Hrangkhawl’s speech is liable for legal action under section 2.2, sub-section (iii) in Chapter 8 (campaign phase) of the handbook meant for candidates, especially because it was made at a time when outlawed extremist organisations have been carrying out a series of attacks with ethnic overtones. Such nonchalantly aggressive and inflammatory speech by a top leader of an electoral alliance cannot but lead to serious aggravation of the pre-poll scenario, the CPI(M) leader added.

In his letter, Dhar said armed NLFT extremists have been issuing threats to CPI(M) activists and supporters against exercising their franchise in the ensuing assembly polls. Even Nakshatra Jamatia, the CPI(M)’s candidate for Ampinagar (ST) constituency in Amarpur subdivision, has been threatened by NLFT extremists against contesting the election. On February 7, Dhar had to urge the commission to set up security camps at sensitive booths in this constituency, and to beef up security in the extremist-infested areas where the CPI(M)’s candidate as well as its activists and supporters are facing a grave danger from the armed NLFT extremists. (INN)