People's Democracy

Combine Resorts To Post-Poll Violence

IN a blatant bid to lend credence to their clamours for president’s rule in Tripura, that has been the opposition’s only agenda in the last ten years, the Congress-INPT combine and the outlawed extremist NLFT have resorted to a series of violent acts in order to trigger tension and turmoil in the state. Tripura is at present surging with spontaneously spirited but sober celebrations over the Left Front’s recent electoral victory.

It will be noted that, over the last five years alone, the semi-fascist barbarity of mercenary militants and miscreants have killed 540 leaders, activists and supporters of the Left Front, especially of the CPI(M). Moreover, with a methodical madness, immediately after each and every such extremist strike, as also on several other occasions, the Congress-led alliance has been crying hoarse for imposition of president’s rule in the state and dismissal of the Left Front government ruling the state at a stretch since April, 1993. The alliance has, however, never been found either supporting or demanding even a single programme for welfare and development of Tripura.

On March 1 evening, by the time the counting of the votes polled on February 26 made it clear that the Left Front had attained a two-third’s majority, extremists of the BNCT (the B-team of the Congress-INPT sponsored NLFT), raided the house of the a CPI(M) supporter and  AIDWA activist, Comrade Dhanapati Debbarma (80), at Asharambari under Khowai subdivision in West Tripura, and hacked her and her daughter Comrade Sonalaxmi Debbarma (26), to death. For the last few years the mother and daughter had been participating in the programmes of the CPI(M) and Tripura Upajati Ganamukti Parishad. The anti-national extremists eliminated them from the earth following the defeat of the INPT candidate in Asharambari constituency.

In three other incidents of vengeful violence at Kakraban under Udaipur subdivision in South Tripura, Congress goons attacked CPI(M) activists  ---Sankar Nag, Biswajit Das, (28) Birendra Saha (55) and Biswajit Majumder --- on March 1 night and in very early hours the next morning, and grievously injured them with sharp weapons. All four were hospitalised in critical conditions.

In a statement issued on March 3, the state Left Front committee vehemently condemned the dastardly and diabolic killings of and murderous attacks on Left Front activists. The committee called upon the police and administration to deal sternly with any violence designed to pollute the post-poll atmosphere in Tripura. 

The state Congress president Birjit Sinha carried a provocative attack on the public on March 3 night at Tilla Bazar in Kailashahar subdivision, North Tripura. At about 8.00 p m, Birjit Sinha went to Tilla Bazar and made his security personnel fire at least 17 rounds when people protested his provocative attack on them. A person was injured in the firing. Top police officers of the district rushed to the area to bring the situation under control.

Meanwhile, at a press conference held on the same day at the CPI(M) state headquarters, the party’s spokesman and state secretariat member Gautam Das informed newsmen that at some places in the state, Congress goons were alleged to have gone on rampage, posing themselves as Left Front activists in victory celebrations. Chief minister Manik Sarkar had instructed police officers to deal sternly with any miscreants irrespective of political affiliations, he stated. In a widespread drive in West Tripura alone, the police  thus arrested about a hundred people.

Gautam Das informed newsmen that, despite an about 2 per cent drop in the turn-out, the Left Front has polled about 2 per cent more votes in the polls this year than in February 1998. The valid votes in the assembly polls in 1998 were 79.12 per cent while in 2003 they are 77.32 per cent. But in 1998, Left Front polled 49.07 per cent of the votes, while in 2003, it polled 50.89 per cent.

The Left Front cabinet has since been sworn in on March 7, and the central victory rally of the Left Front took place in Astabal Maidan at Agartala on the same afternoon. (INN)