Congress encouraging extremists in Tripura

Sushanta Talukdar

Accuses Congress of adopting “double standards” on insurgency problem

Expresses hope that people will foil “evil designs” of Congress and INPT


Agartala: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Prakash Karat on Sunday accused the Congress party of encouraging extremist forces in Tripura by forging an “unholy” electoral alliance with the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), which he described as a “Mask of extremists.”

“The Congress is one party which encourages extremists. When Rajiv Gandhi was a Prime Minister, he encouraged extremist forces in Tripura to destabilise the Left Front government. In the last assembly elections we witnessed that the Congress forged an alliance with the INPT. We have told the Congress leaders that what your party is doing in Tripura is detrimental not only for Tripura but is also detrimental for the entire country. The INPT is not an ordinary political party. It is backed by extremist forces and it is only a mask of extremists. We are not worried. We are sure that the people of Tripura will defeat the Congress-INPT alliance,” said Mr. Karat while addressing a State level election rally here organised by the ruling Left Front of CPI-M, CPI and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP).

Mr. Karat urged the voters of Tripura to re-elect the Left Front for another term with resounding victory, in the interest of unity among tribals and non-tribals, for consolidating on the growth achieved by the Left Front government in the field of agriculture and other sectors and to defeat the “evil designs” of extremist and reactionary forces to stall the progress of the State.

‘Double standards’

He accused the Congress of adopting “double standards” on the insurgency problem and added that while the Congress leaders justified imposition of President’s Rule in Nagaland on grounds of containing insurgents, the party entered into an “opportunistic alliance” with the INPT.

Poll fever

The CPI-M General Secretary was greeted by a thundering applause by thousands of party workers and supporters, sporting red caps and T-shirts displaying the party symbol of the hammer and the sickle. Thousands of CPI-M workers representing various tribal and non-tribal groups, who arrived late, danced joyously displaying their traditional cultural items as the meeting progressed. The entire town of Agartala has been gripped by poll fever. All the roads and bylanes of the capital city have been decorated with Red flags of the CPI-M and flags of the Congress party on both sides of the road at a gap of a few feet.

Wrong policies

Highlighting the achievement of the Left Front government in Tripura, West Bengal and Kerala, Mr. Karat said while no farmer in these States had committed suicide, more than 16,000 farmers committed suicides across the country, mostly in Congress ruled States because of the wrong policies the Congress governments. He said that Tripura had achieved tremendous success in increasing agricultural productivity and the State had attained food security under the Left Front.

Addressing the rally, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar claimed that after the 2003 Assembly elections, 56,000 families had ceded their relations with the Congress and the INPT.