People's Democracy

TRIPURA   

CPI(M) Gears Up For The Impending Assembly Elections  

The CPI(M) Tripura state committee issued the following press release on April 11, 2007 after the state committee meeting was held on April 8-9, 2007. Prakash Karat, General Secretary of CPI(M) attended the meeting.  

THE CPI(M) Tripura state committee shall carry on statewide intensive campaign on 9-point popular issues like inflation, price-hike, crisis faced by peasants etc and against the anti-people policies pursued by the Congress-led UPA government at the centre. At the same time, the Party will also extensively propagate against the communal forces in the country.   

Addressing the state committee, Prakash Karat said aggrieved people suffering from inflation, price hike and crisis in agricultural sector rejected the Congress in recently held assembly elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand and in corporation elections in Mumbai and Delhi. The BJP is taking the advantage of the situation arising out of the pursuit of anti-people policies by UPA government. It is set to happen in the ongoing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh also. So the Party central committee felt it imperative to stall BJP from taking benefit of the genuine popular anger and thus decided to carry on vigorous countrywide campaign. The issues taken up in the campaign are: price-hike, FDI in retail and banking sector, black-marketeering, speculative trade, crisis in agricultural sector, against privatisation, commercialisation of education, strategic alliance with USA, and demanding introduction of REGA in all districts, revitalisation of PDS, etc. Prakash Karat added that the Party will come to issue-based understanding with secular parties to conduct joint movement on these issues. Regarding Nandigram episode, Prakash Karat said the Party shall go to the people with all facts to nullify the volley of baseless slanders against the Party resorted to by the opposition. Lastly, Prakash Karat called upon the Party to start making full preparations, both political and organisational, for the next year’s assembly election in Tripura.  

While taking stock of the state situation, the state committee observed that the Party could expand its mass base further. The relentless movement programme on the national and state issues relating to the broad interest of the common people, continuous political-ideological campaign against the extremists and above all proper implementation of the developmental schemes undertaken by the state government as well as elected autonomous bodies forms the basis for this expansion.   

Reviewing the extremist situation, the state committee observed that keeping a lull for sometime, extremist outfits, which are being patronised by the anti-Left Front political forces, are trying to get themselves active again, with an eye on the next assembly elections in the state. In comparison to the attacks of the secessionist extremists, security forces have many more achievements in their combat operations during the period, noted the state committee. It added that there were a series of surrenders from the major outfits with sophisticated arms, explosives and ammunitions.   

Regarding the role of the opposition parties, the state committee viewed that the more they get alienated, the more they are becoming provocative chaos-mongers. They are trying to create lawlessness in the state calling statewide bandhs without any valid issue. They are resorting to misinformation campaign castigating Left Front ministers and leaders with baseless concocted allegations. They are creating furore over some minor mistake that occurred in preparing photo-electoral rolls, which are being prepared for the first time in Tripura. Starved of issues against the Left Front, the bankrupt Congress tried to frequently stall the assembly proceedings raising baseless issues, with least concern to the state’s wellbeing. They are also opposing construction of barbed-wire fencing along the Tripura-Bangladesh border which is vital for combating the extremists and other criminals.   

In spite of all these, Congress utterly fails to contain the erosion it is undergoing. During last three months, mass exodus of 1679 families belonging to Congress and other opposition parties, shifted their allegiance to CPI(M) and declared to work for the Party, the state committee informed.   

The state committee expressed its gratitude for massive participation of the masses in law-breaking movement on 42 points throughout the state on February 27. Similarly, thousands of people participated in the February movement on the 10-point charter of demands.   

As assembly elections are approaching, the state committee apprehended Congress, INPT and other anti-Left Front parties may turn to hateful provocative machinations to create unrest in the state. It called upon Party members to keep patience and instantly frustrate all the opposition conspiracies with active involvement of the people.   

The state committee decided to launch a movement against anti-people policies of the UPA government on the 9-point urgent demands for state progress, during the next three months.   

On April 7 evening, Prakash Karat, while addressing a crowded hall meeting organised by the state committee, pointed out that the present world situation has both positive and negative sides to it. On the positive end, American imperialists have been successfully resisted in Iraq and West Asia. America can no longer attack Iran though its offensive against Iran continues. China and other countries have severely criticised America for threatening North Korea. Lebanon has put up a heroic resistance and Cuba is no longer alone. Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and Uruguay are evidence to a communist resurrection in Latin America.   

Prakash Karat also said that CPI(M) was engaged in a continuous fight against America’s interference in India at different levels. He stressed that the Party will successfully counter all sorts of anti-communist conspiracies with the people on its side. Those who have started castigating the CPI(M) on Nandigram issue should remember that such slur campaigns against the Party have been going on since 1957. The CPI(M) is committed to fight and campaign against price rise, implementation of REGA, resisting communal and imperialist forces. The country is being subjected to uneven development with only a few billionaires enjoying the fruits of development. Even the judiciary has been influenced by liberalisation and the several recent judgments of Kerala High Court and Supreme Court are cases in point. So accountability of the judiciary is also required urgently.   

(INN)