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Amra Bangali party activists burnt the effigy of former Tripura CM and CPI(M) leader Manik Sarkar in Agartala on Monday.
While attending a program on the 25th death anniversary of murdered DYFI leader Tapan Chakraborty, Sarkar had on Sunday blamed alleged radical groups linked to the Amra Bangali for being involved in armed insurgency in the state.
“Former chief minister Manik Sarkar, while speaking at a public meeting in Teliamura, labelled false allegations against Amra Bangali. He tried to belittle Amra Bangali in front of the people,” Amra Bangali leader Gauranga Rudra Pal said.
Pal instead blamed the CPI(M) for the 1980 Tripura riots. He said over 6,000 Bengalis and indigenous people were killed in the riots. “Houses of Bengali people were burnt, and their properties destroyed. Several Bengali families fled their homes to escape insurgents, and many of them have not returned yet,” the Amra Bangali leader said.
“They (CPIM) didn’t do anything to the armed tribal insurgents who were responsible for the violence against Bengalis. Later, we saw that 7,000-8,000 insurgents surrendered during the CPI(M) regime in different phases. They were given crores of money, government jobs, and administrative posts,” said Pal, citing the examples of former insurgent leaders Lalit Debbarma and Khagendra Jamatia.
The Amra Bangali also recently organised a rally in the state capital, protesting alleged discrimination against Bengalis in different states and attempts to label Bengalis as foreigners.
Tripura experienced its worst ethnic riot between tribal and non-tribal communities in June 1980. The Dinesh Singh Committee, formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), found that 1,300 people were killed during the clashes. Other estimates, however, suggested that the death toll was much higher.
