Tripura Opposition leader Manik Sarkar trained guns on the ruling BJP Saturday, claiming that the high command of the saffron party was forced to remove former chief minister Biplab Dev owing to the administration’s lack of success in fulfilling poll promises. Terming the forthcoming bypolls to four assembly constituencies in the state on June 23 as ‘warm-up games’ and ‘dress rehearsal’ before the Assembly elections next year, Sarkar asked the electorate to send a strong message to the BJP for its ‘failure’ to provide ‘good governance’. Addressing a rally to mark the state conference of the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU) in Agartala, Sarkar said communal and corporate forces have advanced their agenda under the BJP regime with support of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). He added that liberal economic policies adopted by the Centre were aiding the exploitation of the common people. Claiming that India’s condition was not good, the former Tripura chief minister said republican and democratic foundations of the country have come under relentless attacks during the last eight years of the Narendra Modi-led regime. Sarkar also alleged that the Centre has failed to control inflation and create jobs, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Talking about the political situation in Tripura, Sarkar said the BJP was forced to change the chief minister with barely nine months remaining before the next assembly election owing to the lacklustre performance of the government. He claimed the change in chief ministership was a mere distraction to regain lost support base. “The PM visited Tripura thrice, the Union home minister twice and both of them praised the former CM. If he was indeed performing so well, why was he removed all of a sudden? The real reason is failure to perform and lack of initiative in raising the living standards of common people. The government is doing exactly the opposite of what it promised before the polls,” Sarkar said. He further said the situation will not change under new Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha. “They are collecting data and they, too, feel that if elections are held now, they will win five to seven seats at best. Some other estimates are giving the BJP between 15-17 seats. They have changed the CM’s face to manage the situation. We are touring different districts and the way people are coming to us with complaints… we will run out of space if we start to list them all,” he said. Sarkar also blamed the BJP for unleashing violence on political opponents. Citing the attack on the Pradesh Congress Bhawan in the state capital a few weeks ago, he asked, “Who set it on fire?” He also referred to recent attacks on former minister and Congress leader Sudip Roy Barman and added that Congress leaders were attacked twice within a month in Agartala city itself. He said the rise in attacks showed that the BJP was desperate and it had lost public support. The former CM appealed to opposition parties to come together in their bid to oust the BJP from power next year. Sarkar said even though the forthcoming bye-elections will not lead to a change in guard, they will present an opportunity ‘to vent public voice’. He added that “the main fight is up ahead. Everyone has to take an active role in it. If anyone thinks a change of CM will solve problems, it’s wrong. A government changed the chief minister just nine months before the end of tenure… the decision in itself conveys a lot.” CITU national general secretary Tapan Sen said the Centre, too, was on the backfoot and its decision to roll back the offer to sell stake in Bharat Petroleum and the three controversial farm bills were proof of it. He said the recently held all-India trade union strike received tremendous response from workers across the country. Sen asked people to end BJP’s purported misrule, raising the slogan of “Desh hamare aap ki, nahin kisike baap ki (The country belongs to all of us, it is not anyone’s ancestral property).”
