Life in terror: Tripura rocked by post-election violence

Chowdhury said that as a result of the bad publicity and growing outrage among the people, the alleged BJP attackers have lately been trying not to be seen and are more subtly pursuing their “terror agenda”. “Now they do not allow supporters and activists of the CPI(m) and the Congress to go and earn their living; preventing them from opening their shops or doing their jobs. They may not be killing the opposition physically, but they are destroying it economically. To date [March 16], there were more than 2,000 attacks on the leftist congress. The police just stand there and do nothing; Instead, they arrest those who try to counter BJP attacks,” Chowdhury said.

Even the BJP did not survive the violence unscathed. On 2 March, local BJP leader Tapan Bhowmik, 70, was injured in a clash in Agartala. On March 13, he died from his injuries.

In the elections to the Assembly, the BDP managed to break through, despite the fact that a strong factor opposed to the incumbent worked against it. One of the main complaints against the ruling party was its alleged coercive methods of suppressing the voice of the opposition and thereby undermining the democratic process.

In the elections, the BJP-MPFT managed to win only 33 out of 60 seats, compared to 44 in 2018. Even BJP leaders admitted that the triangular nature of the competition worked in their favor. “We would have lost at least 5-6 seats to the Left Congress if it weren’t for the vote split due to the presence of TIPRA Motha in some non-tribal constituencies,” a BJP source said highly. Front line.

Gagged opposition

Left-wing political commentator and senior journalist Rahul Sinha noted that this time, the post-vote violence was of a slightly different nature – more than physical attacks, the goal was the livelihood of opposition workers and supporters.

Says Sinha: “In the first five years, the attacks were more physical in nature: 25 leftist workers and their supporters were killed, thousands were attacked, offices were looted, houses were burned. This time, the attack is directed at people’s livelihood.” If someone has rubber plantations, they’ll be gutted, or an auto rickshaw, or a shop, or any small business, Sinha added. “If you have a submersible pump and no other source of irrigation, it will be taken away. There are constant reports of people being asked to pay huge sums of money just to stay at home. The idea seems to be to keep people so involved in trying to rebuild their livelihoods and expose them to such fear and trauma that they dare not engage in any activity against the government. As a result, the state’s economy has been hit hard.”

Even the Congress, which until recently was the main opposition in the state during the CPI(M), admitted that the position of the opposition under leftist rule was never as bad as it is now with the BJP. This was stated by Himangshu Kar, Secretary General of the Tripura Pradesh State Congress. Front line“During the time of the KPI(m), there was terror, but it was not as terrible as it was under the BJP. At least then the opposition could carry out political programs and have a voice. An attempt is now planned to completely silence the opposition.”

Central group visit

As the violence continued unabated, a fact-finding team made up mostly of leftists and members of Congress visited Tripura and the affected areas, accompanied by state MLAs and local leaders. Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal, who was part of the team, said Front line: “They [the BJP] entered villages and identified KPI(m) personnel involved in the election and campaign process and destroyed their homes. Neighbors were told that if they tried to protest they would suffer the same fate. This goes on non-stop and the police have become puppets. They are even afraid to register FIR.”

Even the parliamentary group, which was attacked in Nehalchandra Nagar in the Sepahijal region, was not spared. “If they can threaten deputies and elected legislators in this way, then you can imagine what the situation is for ordinary people. They silenced the people in horror. Not only houses are damaged, but also their livelihoods; children’s books were destroyed, livestock suffered. The situation is just terrible and very dangerous for democracy,” Bhattacharya said.

While it was originally planned to raise the issue in Parliament, Bhattacharya believes it may not serve any purpose in the long run. “Personally, I don’t think much can be gained by raising this issue in parliament, as the BJP will say that this is a matter of state… I believe that the only solution is to create a strong unity of the people and resist this horror,” he said.

V. Shivadasan, MP for the Rajya Sabha of the CPI(M), wrote in a letter to Vice President Jagdeep Dhanhar dated March 11, “The violence unleashed in Tripura is over the top. In just a few days after the legislature elections, more than a thousand incidents of violence were recorded in Tripura. The supporters of the ruling BJP cause great damage to the state. A large number of houses and property were burned and destroyed. Hundreds of people and supporters of opposition parties have been targeted and brutally attacked by criminals.”

However, the BJP denied all reports of the attacks and called them a “deep conspiracy” to tarnish the image of the ruling party and the government of Tripura. Following the alleged attack on MPs, Nabendu Bhattacharya, the BJP’s spokesman in Tripura, issued a press release stating: “The locals were simply protesting the plot. They disagreed with the accusations of terror and denied any instances of political violence in the region. The leaders of the leftist congress could not allow this to happen.”

essence

• According to the Left Front and the CPI(M)-led Congress, over 1,000 attacks against members and supporters of the opposition have been carried out in Tripura since 2 March.

• Even a fact-finding team made up of opposition MPs and MLAs was attacked.

• The attack is mainly on people’s livelihood.

• According to opposition leaders, the situation is very dangerous for democracy as it aims to silence dissidents.