Monday 5 March 2018

In the wake of Tripura

Written by Prabhat Patnaik | Updated: March 6 2018 7:03 am If the Left takes a political stance to take the lead in organising an anti-Hindutva resistance then some good at least would have come out of the Tripura reverse. Express photo by Partha Paul. Two clear conclusions emerge from the Tripura election verdict. First it is exceedingly difficult for an Opposition party that has an incumbent government in any state to withstand the onslaught of the BJP. This party brings to the electoral arena the might of its Central government to buttress its own well-financed electoral effort. True the Manik Sarkar government had been crippled in its last term in office by a financial squeeze which had doubtless affected its performance but this squeeze itself had been the result as much of the recommendations of successive Finance Commissions that had been grossly unfair to Tripura as of the Centre s wilful niggardliness. By-elections where the BJP gets defeated and even assembly elections in states where the BJP has been in power either alone or in alliance and where the popular wrath it has earned leads to an opposition party s victory such as in Punjab cannot negate this https://tinychat.com/room/kkabhi fact. An opposition-ruled state government can scarcely survive the single-minded effort of the BJP with its immense resources combined with the machinations of the central government it controls to dislodge it from power through electoral means. Even apparently well-entrenched governments like those of Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik are vulnerable on this score notwithstanding their by-election successes.Related News Attacked CPM appeals BJP for peaceTripura BJP supporters bulldoze Lenin statueTripura election results: Ally IPFT pricks BJP celebrations raises demand for tribal CM Second in almost every state the polity is now tending to get polarised into the BJP on one side and one anti-BJP opposition force on the other. The fates of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab of the Congress in Odisha and now in Tripura are obvious examples of this trend where opposition parties other than the one which is perceived to be the main anti-BJP force are getting marginalised. This suggests that those opposed to the BJP are pooling their votes in favour of one anti-BJP party whose identity may differ from one state to another instead of frittering them by backing candidates belonging to several different parties. The electorate sees the political choice before it as either supporting or keeping out the BJP. If these trends continue then the ultimate denouement will be one where the BJP will be the only overwhelming national party facing in different states different political opponents; and since these opponents can be easily beaten down there will be BJP governments in almost all the states. The BJP s explicitly-stated objective of creating an opposition-free India will thus get realised; and in such a case of course ushering in a Hindu Rashtra will pose no great difficulty. It may well be asked: Are we not exaggerating the dangers of this denouement? Even if it comes to pass it would be argued the so-called anti-incumbency factor will work against the BJP governments in the different states if not immediately then at least after a while; and once these governments are voted out of power as the Tripura government has been then BJP rule at the Centre even if not overthrown in the near future will become difficult to sustain. Hence there is no need to be greatly exercised over this trend of extreme centralisation of power in the hands of the Hindutva party: This situation no matter how disturbing in the short run will get reversed in the long run. The reasons for disquiet however are several: First as Keynes had famously remarked in the long-run we are all dead . We cannot even in principle simply put our trust in the long run. Second one cannot underestimate the Hindutva forces ability to manipulate voting behaviour in their own favour to turn even losing situations into winning ones in all kinds of devious ways. These include presiding over communal riots spreading false rumours and manufacturing news about surgical strikes against this or that enemy of the nation . In such a case the so-called long run when they are supposed to be voted out of power will never come. Third if they are allowed to go their way with little resistance from the forces of parliamentary opposition which merely keeps waiting for the arrival of the long run when they would have lost their electoral appeal then other extra-parliamentary forces which represent rival fascisms opposed to them will come up. In that case the country will be torn apart through vicious conflicts. The time to intervene therefore is now before it becomes too late. The Left which is being pushed into the margins by the offensive of the BJP has to defend the nation and through that very process also defend itself by mobilising all the secular and democratic elements in society to fight the Hindutva forces before they tighten their stranglehold over it. Of course a mere hotch-potch of parties coming together to fight the BJP will carry little credibility with the people; and even if it succeeds in dethroning the BJP unless it effects some tangible improvement in the people s lives it will soon create sufficient disillusionment among them to allow the Hindutva party to come back to power at the next round. The coming together of the secular and democratic parties therefore will have to be around a common minimum programme which is workable and to which all parties coming together are committed. Such a programme must include not only overcoming the pervasive fear the assault on thought and the flourishing of communal patriarchal and casteist attitudes that has occurred of late but also introducing a set of universal welfare state measures especially in the spheres of education employment and health. Whoever is willing to come on such an agenda should be a part of the broad alliance whose constituents therefore should be decided not on a priori grounds but on this criterion of agreeing to an agenda for change. For the Left it is a fight for survival. If it recognises the seriousness of the situation and in the wake of the reverse in Tripura changes its political stance to take the lead in organising an anti-Hindutva resistance then some good at least would have come out of the Tripura reverse. The writer is former professor of economics at JNU Delhi For all the latest Opinion News download Indian Express App Get assembly election result LIVE updates from each constituency in Tripura Nagaland and Meghalaya More From Prabhat Patnaik Site of Struggle Accessible and lucid Rajeev Dhavan s book argues that the content of the Constitution is the product of multiple contestations.. Salt to the wound Government could have undone the damage of demonetisation through the budget. The opportunity has been missed in deference to the whims of global finance... Why the Left matters An electoral setback for the Left is a setback for the democratic revolution... Tags: elections Tripura VV LakshminarayananMar 6 2018 at 8:04 amIt is time to shut down JNU. It is packed with antinationals.(3)(0) Reply Ajat ShaMar 6 2018 at 7:51 amWhat is this guy smoking. He is good for BJP so wont comment further(1)(0) Reply Narendra M. ApteMar 6 2018 at 7:48 am1. I agree with author s view that all parties who are opposed to BJP/RSS ideology should come together. 2. The Communist parties have failed. Idea of Third Front which is being considered to counter BJP appears to be attractive on paper. Who would be in such a Front? Regional parties like Samajwadi Party TRS Trinamool Congress NCP and possibly BJD may come together to form such a Front. 2. Here let us not forget that politicians like Mulayam Singh Yadav K Chandrasekhar Rao Mamata Banerjee Sharad Pawar and Biju Patnaik have individual ambitions of playing a big role in national politics (which means each of them has Prime Ministerial ambitions). 3. Let us also not overlook fact that these regional parties do not have a national agenda or a pan-India presence. Hence on many issues there are differences in approach which means that anti-BJP front will be an opportunistic alliance to be in power. Therefore we must debate and work hard to give a viable alternative to BJP/NDA.(0)(2) Reply Pravin KurdekarMar 6 2018 at 7:48 amAatma Vanchana(1)(0) Reply RRakesh Kumar SinhaMar 6 2018 at 7:44 amAnd the Hindus must moblize for their survival and put last nail on the coffin of anti Hindu anti national anti poor rants of commis and their bedfellows so-called secus.(3)(0) Reply Load More Comments
An internal debate in the CPI(M) on the political line the party has to follow has become even more shrill after its crushing defeat in Tripura with the camp supporting general secretary Sitaram Yechury blaming the former party boss Prakash Karat for not adapting to changing scenarios in the country. The incumbent Left government in power in the state for 25 years was routed by the BJP that earlier had less than a 2 per cent vote share in Tripura. The issue will now be debated in our party congress (to be held in April). I will not be able to say anything now as the final decision will be taken there Yechury told PTI. Though the general secretary was tight-lipped it has become amply clear that party leaders supporting his line will now strongly push for having an understanding with all anti-BJP forces as against Karat s policy of keeping a distance from other such parties. The Tripura results clearly show that the Left should have tried to bring all the anti-BJP forces together to defeat the BJP. The Congress had its voters in the state. But we could not give them an alternative. We should have given them the confidence that we could take the BJP on a senior leader from Bengal said. The leader from the Bengal unit -- which has mostly been with Yechury on alliances -- hoped for a change in the party line. The Karat camp did not agree with some members holding that along with anti-incumbency the erosion of the Congress helped the BJP. There is no anti-BJP force other than the Left in Tripura. The Congress vote share has come down to 2 per cent from 36 per cent in the state. We have got 46 per cent votes in Tripura. The entire Congress leadership crossed over to the BJP CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat told PTI. The defeat is also being seen in Left circles as a breakdown in the CPI(M) s electoral and political strategy and the party s disconnect with the masses and ground reality. The CPI another Left party believed the CPI(M) had failed to adapt to changing times and the results reflected not just the coming apart of its electoral and political strategy but also a massive disconnect with reality. As Communists we must understand changing times and challenges. We must understand the BJP is coming to power. It is no ordinary change of power. We have to change our strategy accordingly to defeat the BJP-RSS combine. That s why we need a broader anti-BJP front said CPI leader D Raja. Some Left insiders rue that while the Left was losing its bastions such as West Bengal earlier and Tripura now the CPI(M) is still grappling with internal differences. The difference of opinion between party general secretary Yechury and his predecessor Prakash Karat over the use of the phrase understanding with the Congress in its draft political resolution to be discussed at the party congress in April has become the talk of Left political circles. Karat s line against electoral alliance or understanding with the Congress prevailed over Yechury s who did not want to rule out an understanding with the Congress. A senior party member who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the result of the Tripura Assembly election was likely to change equations within the party. After Tripura many leaders within the party who had earlier backed the Karat line are now slowly realising that in today s political situation the Left needs to bring all anti-BJP forces together to fight against the BJP the leader said. The debate is going to become sharper in the days to come in the run-up to and at the party congress in Hyderabad. The daggers would be out and the voices -- although behind closed doors -- loud and shrill.
Agartala: The Tripura Police on Monday said it has received four complaints of post-poll violence from various parts of the state since Sunday night. Representational image. Reuters The state witnessed a change in rule after 25 years in the recently concluded Assembly elections. The BJP demolished the Left citadel in Tripura winning a two-thirds majority with its ally the IPFT. The cases include arson at two CPM offices in the Sidhai area in West Tripura district 25 km from Agartala and clashes between CPM and BJP supporters at Kadamtala in North Tripura district 140km from Agartala Superintendent of Police (Control) Pradip De said adding that no one had been arrested so far. The BJP has warned its leaders and supporters of stern action if they indulged in post-poll violence in Tripura. A section of unidentified BJP supporters who migrated from the CPM were creating unrest in parts of the state BJP vice-president Subal Bhowmick said at a press meet on Monday. Anyone found to be involved in post-poll violence would be immediately expelled and legal action will be initiated against them he said. The CPM alleged that the supporters and activists of the BJP-Indigenous People s Front of Tripura (IPFT) alliance were terrorizing its workers and burning party offices since the announcement of poll results on 3 March. CPM office secretary Haripada Das said over 240 people were injured in attacks on party offices offices of Left trade unions and homes of prominent leaders in the last 48 hours. Bhowmick said the situation was being closely monitored by the party and no one would be spared if they were found creating tension in the state. He alleged that the CPM activists too assaulted 49 of its party supporters 17 of whom had to be hospitalized.
Agartala: The drift of tribal and backward class voters was among the factors that led to the Left Front s debacle in the Tripura assembly elections. Of the 20 seats reserved for tribals in the 60-member state assembly the Left won just two as opposed to the 19 seats it had won in the last elections.The Left had been in power in the state for the last 25 years yet basic facilities have eluded tribal families says 72-year-old Ranabir Debbarma from Bamutia in West Tripura. Many tribal families are still poor and cannot send their children to school. Drinking water remains an issue tribals still drink water from rivulets. Local CPM leaders would give the benefits of government schemes to their near and dear ones said Mr Debbarma a staunch Communist who claimed to have voted for the BJP this time.Bengalis are the majority in Tripura and the Left traditionally had a strong grip over backward class Bengali voters in reserved seats like Bamutia. But this time they switched loyalties in sync with the BJP s call for change. I was a CPM supporter who joined the BJP in 2016 because I was tired of CPM s grassroots level corruption right from the panchayat level said Gourhari Sen.In these assembly elections the Left was not the only loser. Congress which always got over 35 per cent votes could not even manage two per cent this time.Former state Congress chief Sudip Roy Burman who first moved to the Trinamool Congress with five other lawmakers and then to the BJP says the Congress was never serious about coming to power in Tripura. Voters in Tripura were divided into two groups -- Left and anti-Left. Till a few days ago Congress was the main opposition party but when people saw a nexus between the Congress and Communists they lost confidence and were looking for a party that could dislodge the state government. Finally they found it in the BJP under Narendra Modi s leadership Mr Burman told NDTV.Unemployment is a major issue in the state that has nearly seven lakh jobless youth. There has been infiltration of Bangladeshis who have got all Indian documents and even government jobs. We the sons of the soil were left behind said Shyamal Debbarma a tribal. CommentsClose X And tapping into this sentiment is the BJP s ally -- Indigenous People s Front of Tripura (IPFT) -- that says it has not yet dumped its call for a separate tribal state. As a political party IPFT will still demand a separate tribal state for the survival of the tribals said IPFT president NC Debbarma.
AGARTALA: Newly elected MLAs of the BJP and its ally IPFT will meet here tomorrow to elect their leader amid hard bargaining by the tribal ally which demanded respectable positions in the new ministry. Tripura BJP president Biplab Deb considered a front runner in the race for the chief minister s post said tomorrow s meeting would be held at the state guest house in the presence of Union minister Nitin Gadkari. BJP spokesperson Mrinal Kanti Deb said Union minister Jual Oram would also be present. The swearing-in of the new ministry is likely to be held on March 8 at the Swami Vivekananada Maidan in the heart of the town. It is likely to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi many Union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states Biplab Deb said. The BJP won 35 of the 59 seats that went to polls in Tripura and its ally the Indigenous People s Front of Tripura (IPFT) bagged eight seats. Polling was countermanded in one seat due to the death of the CPI(M) candidate. Meanwhile the IPFT today mounted pressure on the BJP saying it would support the new government from outside if it was not given respectable positions in the ministry. IPFT chief N C Debbarma also demanded that the chief minister be chosen from the indigenous MLAs. It is a tradition in the northeast that a chief minister is selected from the indigenous community he added. The IPFT would also seek a separate block for its MLAs in the Assembly if it was not given respectable positions in the cabinet he said. Asked what he meant by respectable positions Debbarma said it meant proportionate representation of IPFT MLAs in the cabinet and allocation of major departments to them. There is an apprehension that we may not be given proper representation in the cabinet and important portfolios would not be allocated to us as the BJP the major constituent has alone secured 35 seats Debbarma told PTI. The BJP and the IPFT he said had fought the elections in an alliance with the sole target of defeating the CPM and that the target was achieved. Now if we are not given respectable positions we will support the government from outside he said. The BJP leadership did not make any comment on the IPFT s demand. The IPFT had forged an alliance with the BJP before the elections on the basis of a common minimum agenda which included formation of a high-power committee with representations from the central and state governments and the indigenous community to address the problems of the tribals. The tribal party had come into being in the late 90s and had campaigned for a separate state for tribals by carving out the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) on the plea that the indigenous people had become marginalised due to the huge migration of people to this state after partition of the country in 1947. The tribal council area comprises two-third of the state s territory and the tribals form one-third of the population.
AGARTALA/MUMBAI: To put Sunil Deodhar in a mould is quite difficult an RSS Pracharak who has adapted to the local north east customs by eating pork a man who by spending 2 and a half years in Tripura has become more fluent in speaking Kokborok than its former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar or simply changing the very nature of a prabhari state in charge by camping in the state for the last 2.5 years lock stock and barrel. While many may be surprised by the election results in Tripura where the BJP managed to trounce a CM who has been in power for more than two decades now Deodhar himself was quite confident of this much earlier. 2 years earlier Deodhar had told BJP Chief Amit Shah that Mai rahu na rahu lekin Tripura aapko zaroor milega . I may not remain alive but I will get Tripura for the BJP. While the lines may seem dramatic those close to Deodhar said that BJP workers were specifically being targeted by the left government. There were a number of attacks on BJP workers party Chief Biplap Deb was attacked and so was Subal Bhowmik our Vice president of the party. said Dinesh Kanji a journalist who wrote a book on Illusion and Reality Manik Sarkar the Red Face of Anarchy. The booklet was used by the BJP to target the Manik Sarkar government. Deodhar himself faced two attacks one in Manik Sarkar s constituency Dhanpur and other in Gomti. The RSS Pracharak was already prepared for the attacks BJP leaders said that some of his close associates from his organization My Home India that works in North east were in Tripura for the last two and a half years shadowing him and protecting him from attacks. These people a group of 30 most of them from Mumbai stayed with him in Tripura for the last 2 to 3 years. So there was Shivanand Nadkarni who was in charge of the War Room that was over seeing the campaign in Tripura. Shravan Jha who got married recently but took along his wife too to campaign for the BJP. Normally a state in charge is at best a frequent visitor to the state he is appointed in but Deodhar changed the definition of it by camping in Tripura. For the last two years and more the Shamili maa building in Agartala was his residence. said a BJP leader. Fond of his two dogs Laptop and Facebook he had them brought to Tripura from Delhi where they have been put up with him. Known to be a huge fan of Lata Mangeshkar songs and who has a huge collection of it the RSS Pracharak even used the songs to target Manik Sarkar. One of the songs that he used to use to target Sarkar was from the 1968 film Izzat kya miliya aise logo se jinki surat chupi rahe nakli chehra saamne aye asli surat chupi rahe. Those close to Deodhar said that his advantage was that he would go out of the way to assimilate with the local people. He learnt Kokborok the tribal language in 2 years and speaks it better than Manik Sarkar. He began eating pork as it was the common diet here even when his doctor advised him to stop eating non veg food due to his weight issues he did not stop as whenever he went to people s houses he was offered non veg and he did not want to offend his hosts. said Kanji. The RSS Pracharak s first came close to Amit Shah in 2012 elections when he was incharge of the Dahod district where out of the six seats the BJP was in power only in 1 while the Congress was in 5 seats. By the time the elections got over the BJP tally had gone up to 3 seats. BJP leaders said that Deodhar knowing his hold on speaking Bengali and his organizational strength the BJP could ask him to work to spread the party in Bengal.
Written by Shreyas Sardesai | Updated: March 5 2018 5:37 am Tripura BJP chief Biplab Deb after the results were declared in Agartala on Saturday. (Express Photo: Abhisek Saha) Tripura s anti-Left voters wanted poriborton at all costs this time and their resolve to see the back of the Left Front government has resulted in an unprecedented success of the BJP-Indigenous People s Front of Tripura (IPFT) alliance. Those opposed to the Left mostly tribals and some non-tribals decisively shifted their allegiance from the old (tried and failed) options of Congress and Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra to the BJP and the IPFT whom they saw as being best placed to bring an end to the 25-year-long Left rule. While this is quite apparent from the result itself a post-poll survey conducted by Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) helps make sense of the massive anti-Left consolidation that took place. Nearly two-fifths (38%) of close to 2 000 voters interviewed across the state described themselves as anti-Left ; and nine of every ten (89%) of them voted for the BJP-IPFT. Also read | Meghalaya and Nagaland: Behind fractured verdicts affinity for local candidates rather than parties During the 2008 election a similar survey by Lokniti in Tripura had found the proportion of those describing themselves as anti-Left at only a little over one-fourth. This is not to say that the old CPM voters did not switch allegiance to the BJP this time around. They certainly did but not to the same extent as the old Congress voters did. In the present survey four in every five (83%) of traditional Congress voters were found to have voted for the BJP-IPFT as opposed to one in every five (21%) of traditional Left voters. It seems a complete collapse of the state Congress put paid to the Left s hopes of returning to power for a sixth successive term. There was a near-unanimous consensus among voters even those who voted for the CPM that it was the BJP (together with IPFT) that was the main challenger to the Left parties. The post-poll survey found nearly nine of ten respondents holding this opinion. This strong belief seems to have prevented any division of the anti-incumbency vote. In fact so strong was the anti-incumbency sentiment that only one in every three voters said they wanted the Manik Sarkar-led government to continue. On the other hand 45% wanted it voted out with the rest remaining noncommittal. What s more the survey found a far greater proportion of voters to be fully dissatisfied (32%) with the LF government s performance than fully satisfied (24%) with it. Interestingly voters made a clear distinction between the last five years of Left Front rule as opposed to its 25-year-long rule. While they rated the latest tenure quite positively on most aspects of governance healthcare education roads drinking water electricity supply and the like they were not as generous when it came to assessing the Left s 25-year record particularly on industrialisation and job creation. For a plurality of voters (25%) it was development that was the single most important voting issue; 13% voted for change and 5% said they voted keeping rising unemployment in mind. Even as the performance of Sarkar s government received a mixed review the survey found the Narendra Modi-led Union government rated high among Tripura s voters. Full satisfaction with its performance was over three times greater than complete dissatisfaction (27% as opposed to 8%). This perhaps partly explains the massive crowds during rallies addressed by the Prime Minister. The BJP s high pitched campaign in fact seems to have made a huge impact on voters minds as well. The survey found that two in every five (41%) voters made their choice after the campaign started and a whopping two-thirds of them ended up voting for the BJP. On the other hand among the 55% who said they decided their vote before the campaign the Left did better than the BJP (54% to 39%). The BJP s controversial alliance with the IPFT an organisation that has been leading a movement demanding a separate state for tribals and had launched a blockade in the state for nearly two weeks last year seems to have paid rich dividends for it. The alliance won 17 of the 19 tribal seats that went to the polls. The post-election survey found over half (54%) the tribal voters (who have traditionally aligned themselves with the Left) voting for the BJP-IPFT and only a little over one-third (36%) voting for the Left. The IPFT s separate state demand in fact found high support among tribals. Asked if they supported the separate state demand as opposed to greater autonomy nearly half the tribals opted for the former whereas a little over one-third said they supported greater autonomy. Non-tribals as expected were found completely against the separate state and this perhaps partly explains why many of them (49%) voted for the Left although not with the same intensity as tribals did for the BJP-IPFT. Other than the emotive separate state issue the RSS s activities in tribal areas and a sense of neglect by the Left government may also have played a role in pushing tribals towards the BJP-IPFT. The survey found that among tribals Christian tribals voted for the BJP-IPFT in a greater proportion than Hindu tribals (64% as opposed to 51%). There was a clear generational divide in voting trends. Younger voters voted for the BJP-IPFT in far greater numbers than older voters. While the alliance bagged nearly 55% of the votes among voters aged between 18 and 45 it netted about 45% among older voters. For the Left it was the other way around. Finally men seem to have played a greater role in bringing about the BJP s victory than women. As per the post-poll survey the BJP-IPFT led the Left parties among male voters by 12 percentage points in terms of votes polled but quite interestingly trailed the Left among female voters by 2 points. This gender gap is more pronounced among non-tribals than among tribals. However even among the latter while tribal women voted for the BJP alliance in greater proportions than for the Left they did so with a much lower intensity than their male counterparts. Women of Tripura perhaps weren t as enthused by the prospect of the BJP coming to power as men were. Thus the victory in Tripura was clearly on account of a strong anti-incumbency sentiment which the BJP capitalised on through an important strategic alliance with the IPFT. This helped the former consolidate the Adivasi vote and the anti-Left vote and also secure the support of those fatigued by long years of Left rule. (The author is associated with Lokniti-CSDS) For all the latest Explained News download Indian Express App Get assembly election result LIVE updates from each constituency in Tripura Nagaland and Meghalaya Tags: Express Explained RRajeshMar 5 2018 at 9:55 amIt s about time. For seven decades India followed Nehruvian socialism and leftist policies and it got us nothing. While countries like China were surging ahead we lagged behind. It was only free-market reforms that opened up the economy in the 1990s that led to the growth of the 1990s and 2000s. Instead of continuing the path towards a free-market economy Congress reverted to leftist policies. The people have rightly decided that leftist policies are a failure. Every developed country in the world from USA to Japan is capitalist. They are marked by having large multinational corporations that create incredible wealth. Why is USA rich? Because of the likes of Microsoft Amazon and McDonalds. Multi-billion dollar corporations that produce valuable goods/services. Why is Japan rich? Because of Toyota Sony etc. In India left-wing buffoons are constantly railing against corporations. Who do they think will create the s and provide employment that the Indian public demands?(9)(1) Reply PPartha RoyMar 5 2018 at 6:05 amVery few media experts have had ears to the ground especially in Tripura. For that matter the nitty-gritty dealings the communists make or made in W. Bengal Tripura and Kerala have been deliberately overlooked by the media to a large extent. One should know why the communists are so interested in a revolution which is sort of a military coup because given a free and fair election the communists are very unlikely to come to power through the democratic process. If the elections were free then in West Bengal the communists would have been defeated handsomely back in 1987 but thanks to rigging booth capturing intimidation and utter fraud that saw the left parties coming to power till 2006. The same happened in Tripura as well. .... But this time the communists have been defeated in their own game. BJP government at the center center made sure that none of the mischief could be repeated by the left. Thousands of illegal Bangladeshis used to cross the border of course under(16)(7) Reply PPartha RoyMar 5 2018 at 6:02 amVery few media experts have had ears to the ground especially in Tripura. For that matter the nitty-gritty dealings the communists make or made in W. Bengal Tripura and Kerala have been deliberately overlooked by the media to a large extent. One should know why the communists are so interested in a revolution which is sort of a military coup because given a free and fair election the communists are very unlikely to come to power through the democratic process. If the elections were free then in West Bengal the communists would have been defeated handsomely back in 1987 but thanks to rigging booth capturing intimidation and utter fraud that saw the left parties coming to power till 2006. The same happened in Tripura as well. .... But this time the communists have been defeated in their own game. BJP government at the center center made sure that none of the mischief could be repeated by the left. Thousands of illegal Bangladeshis used to cross the border of course under(6)(3) Reply
Written by Esha Roy | Agartala | Updated: March 6 2018 7:05 am A JCB being used in Belonia to bring down a Lenin statue IN THE heart of Belonia town in Tripura s extreme south a statue of Communist icon Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov better known as Lenin stood at the centre of College Square for the last five years. At 2.30 pm Monday 48 hours after the assembly election results were announced celebrating BJP workers and supporters brought it down with the help of a JCB amid cries of Bharat Mata ki jai . While the CPI(M) which lost power in the state after 25 years described the incident as an example of Communism phobia the BJP claimed that the statue was brought down by people oppressed by the Left. Eyewitnesses told me that after the statue fell its head was dismembered from the body. And then the BJP workers played football with Lenin s head claimed Tapas Datta CPI(M) s Belonia sub-division secretary. In South Tripura s Belonia a statue of Lenin razed amid chants of Bharat Mata Ki Jai . This less than 48 hours after the BJP stormed to power ending a 25-year-long Left rule. More here: http://t.co/Q7a4EsiuSh pic.twitter.com/335YDvXTb7 The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) March 5 2018 South Tripura SP Ipper Monchak said the driver of the JCB Ashish Pal was arrested in the evening and let off on bail. The statue remains where it has fallen. It will be removed by police tomorrow and given to the municipality for storage said Monchak. According to CPI(M) s Datta the 11.5-ft fibre-glass statue was sculpted by local artist Krishna Debnath at a cost of Rs 3 lakh. It was installed as the party began its 21st year of rule after winning the 2013 assembly elections. BJP south district secretary Raju Nath who has been blamed by the CPI(M) of having planned the incident said the statute fell because of an overflow of anger . For years there has been resentment against this statue of Lenin. It was built by the municipality and funded by the taxpayers money. Why should the taxpayer have to finance a statue of Lenin? Even if it was a statue of our former CPI(M) chief minister Nripen Chakraborty nobody would have touched it he was one of us and belonged to the country. But what does this foreigner Lenin have to do with our people? said Nath. CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar alleged that the incident was the latest in a string of attacks targeting his party after the BJP-IPFT alliance came to power. Lenin statue was brought down at Belonia town Tripura at 2.30 pm Monday by some BJP workers chanting Bharat Mata ki jai Our party workers and supporters are being attacked physically leaders are being threatened our offices are being occupied vandalised and set on fire as are the homes of many of our workers. The bringing down of the statue is nothing but Communism phobia claimed Dhar. Local CPI(M) leader Datta said the statue was the only one of Lenin among some 15-20 across Belonia town installed over the past two decades to beautify the city . The others include statues of Rabindranath Tagore Swami Vivekananda Vidyasagar and Kabi Nazrul he said. Describing the events leading to the statue s fall BJP s Nath said We were carrying out a victory rally this afternoon. When we reached College Square there was a bulldozer that was trying to make its way through the crowds. In the process the driver lost control and hit the railing around the statue. When this happened the supporters surrounded the driver and made him bring down the statue. This was not an unnatural feeling for these people who have been oppressed by the CPI(M) for so long. Tripura minus Lenin http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Nath denied charges that the JCB was hired by his party. The houses near the statue belong to families opposed to the Left. Every week the CPI(M) would hold gatherings and events near the statue and impose their ideology on these people. They d had enough he said. SP Monchak said the police station where the JCB driver was held had been gheraoed by a crowd seeking his release. We would have released Pal in any case as this was not a non-bailable offence. We believe the JCB had been hired expressly for this purpose but we cannot say who hired it. An inquiry is still on said Monchak. Incidentally one of the most prominent statues of Lenin in the country at Esplanade in the heart of Kolkata remains in place even though the Left was toppled from power after 34 years by Mamata Banerjee s TMC in 2011. For all the latest North East India News download Indian Express App Get assembly election result LIVE updates from each constituency in Tripura Nagaland and Meghalaya Tags: BJP Lenin Tripura Sankaranarayanan RamaswamyMar 6 2018 at 8:06 amWhat has happened was very correct. What Lenin is doing in India ???? He has no business in our Country. Communist policy has ruined India and now development period has come in Tripura and other North Eastern State. People should support our Seven Sisters people and should help to avert unemployment problem there by providing s to them as they are our brothers and sisters. BJP must show some difference and Tripura people should feel that we all care them and have equal interest in the State to develop. Jai Bharat.(0)(0) Reply Avinash RangraMar 6 2018 at http://kfreecharge.over-blog.com/2018/02/freecharge-offers-in-shopozo.html 7:54 amCPI-M follows a foreign concept of how people in India ought to be living. Communism has nothing in common with rural India the section dear Comrades profess to represent. They want to keep a significant segment of the society poor for exploitation. Bengal is still inflicted with medieval thought process after 25 years plus CPI rule. Mamta is not any better. People in India are proud look inward to their own culture whereas the Comrades look outside for inspiration China for example because Russia cur ly is more capitalistic than USA in certain aspects. Indian culture is democratic giving everyone a choice to worship their own ways not what someone tells them to do. Comrades enforce Lenin-Mao-etc Islam forces Sharia. Both are alien to indian way of life. Heck the comrades sided with China in 1962 forced communist ideology in Nepal sided with the Soviets against Netaji Bose. They need to removed from the Indian soil.(3)(1) Reply VvishMar 6 2018 at 7:41 amCPM is anti national party they want Lenin Marx and Mao who have no releance in this country.Now they want Dictator of North Korea and say they work for Democracy .What a Joke ?they support Chinese against India kill nationalist people and shut the mouth of those who oppose them.(14)(2) Reply Kapil SutraMar 6 2018 at 7:29 amWhat is Lenin s relevance to India. The brainwashed rootless Marxists cannot take India s people for a ride for ever. Communists and democracy was unheard of till they hijacked elections in India by violence and perennial strife mongering after having rejected commitment to India.(18)(20) Reply ajith MalluMar 6 2018 at 7:10 amI am not a left supporter but I strongly take exception to this sort of vandalism.. Well nothing can be done in Modi s India which is slowly drifting to a draconian dictatorship. It is only a matter of time before all civil liberties are gone(26)(29) ReplyAvinash RangraMar 6 2018 at 7:56 amGot tired in three years o boy. U prefer alien ideologies over the local ones of giving everybody a choice.? Can t believe it.(1)(0) Reply Load More Comments

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