People's Democracy

TRIPURA

LF Set to Achieve a Big Victory Yet Again

Haripada Das

The Tripura state committee meeting of CPI(M) was held on June 17, 2007. The meeting expressed confidence that the Left Front will again emerge victorious with a massive popular mandate increasing both its seats as well as votes in the next Assembly election due in February 2008. No conspiracy shall be able to stall the triumph of the Left Front, the meeting noted. State secretariat member Gautam Das briefed the press on June 18 explaining the decisions of the state committee meeting. Bijan Dhar, Central Committee member of CPI(M) was also present in the press meet.

The state committee observed that the mass base of the opposition parties is shrinking with a mass exodus from these parties. Thousands of people behind them are joining the Left Front and the Left Front at present possesses a greater popular support. In spite of this, Gautam Das cautioned that there is no room to be complacent. All the Party units have been instructed to keep a watch over every incident and development in the state and consolidate the political-organisational preparedness that has already been initiated by the Party, he said. Gautam Das informed that the support base of the Party has registered an increase with a membership growth of 13.9 percent last year.

Gautam Das said that a lot of programmes including - Party’s struggle inside and outside the parliament for implementing pro-people issues, the role it played in safeguarding national unity, amity and integrity, the ceaseless multifarious struggle it waged for the all round progress of the state, the implementation of innumerable developmental schemes in a unique cooperation with the ADC, panchayat, nagar panchayat, village committees and Agartala municipal council, the proper implementation of REGA in Dhalai district which is nationally admitted to be the best in the country, the empowerment of three-tier panchayat and ADC by handing over charges of some public-related government departments etc., and above all the achievement in combating the menace of extremism which bled the state for many years – had a positive impact in the minds of the people. This has been reflected in the increased mobilisation capacity of the Party and the gathering of people in mass programmes convened by the Party in recent years, Gautam Das asserted.

A large number of Congress-INPT supporters shifted their political allegiance to the Left Front, being attracted to the pro-people measures of the government. Since last Assembly elections, more than 50,000 families disassociated with Congress or INPT and joined Left Front. Congress and INPT on the other hand, being starved of issues against the Left Front, is resorting to provocative demands such as 50 percent reservation of Assembly seats for tribals etc., to create a rift among the people with a view to vitiate the present peaceful and harmonious atmosphere, Gautam Das said.

While reviewing the extremist situation, the state committee observed that though the insurgency has dwindled to a large extent, still some desperate stray attacks are carried out to exhibit its existence. During the last two months, security forces had achieved some success in the anti-combat operations and 73 cadets of insurgents belonging to both the outlawed outfits and HNLC surrendered to the police with a large cache of firearms and explosives including some sophisticated ones. The Home ministry of union government also admitted in a recent statement that Tripura made a noteworthy achievement in dealing with the extremists.

The most disturbing feature of the situation, Gautam Das informed, is that both Congress and INPT who usually patronise the extremist forces for their narrow electoral gains, have started a rat-race inside and outside the state for utilising them in the next Assembly elections. To stall the current flow of home-coming, these political parties are encouraging the extremist forces to carry on the depredation at least till the next Assembly elections and at the same time they are provoking a section of tribal youth to launching another extremist outfit at Chawmanu of Longthorai valley sub-division. Gautam Das alerted the people and the Party workers to keep an all out vigil on them and called upon the Party workers to work for full electoral preparations, leaving no loophole to be cashed in by the opposition.