People's Democracy

TRIPURA CPI(M) CALL

Ensure Massive Left Front Win In ADC Polls 

THE Tripura state committee of the CPI(M) has asked the activists and sympathisers of the party and other Left formations for an all out political and organisational endeavour statewide to ensure a massive mandate to the Left Front and its allies in the coming elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC, or in short ADC). The CPI(M) state committee also appealed to come out in massive numbers for the February 15 open rally preceding the 18th state conference of the CPI(M). The state committee made this call through a statement issued on January 13 after its meeting on January 12.

The state committee’s session started with a resolution condoling the demise of party veterans Comrades Nripen Chakraborty and Durgadas Sikdar as well as outstanding freedom fighter and CPI leader Comrade Debaprasad Sengupta. The committee also condoled the death of thousands in South and South East Asia due to the horrendous tsunami waves, and of those in Tripura recently killed by imperialist sponsored separatist militants. The session then, following detailed deliberations, adopted the draft of the political organisational report, to be presented to of the party’s state conference scheduled for February 15-17. The state committee urges the party’s south and west district units to make a massive organisational effort to make the February 15 rally a landmark event in Tripura. The rally would be addressed by the party’s general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet and Polit Bureau members Jyoti Basu and Prakash Karat.

Deliberating on the coming ADC election, the state committee recapitulated the situation inexorably leading up to dissolution of the ADC executive committee by the governor. The latter then appointed an administrator, thus temporarily taking over this vital constitutional body that is the fruit of the people’s prolonged and united democratic movement under the leadership of the CPI(M), Tripura Upajati Ganamukti Parishad and Left Front. The ADC is meant to serve as a machinery for comprehensive development of tribal areas in the state.

One will recall that the INPT had usurped the ADC in the May 2000 polls ---with the help of extremists belonging to the NLFT whose overground political wing the INPT is. Moreover, after taking over, the INPT began to play ducks and drakes with the ADC funds meant for tribal development, and made use of the ADC’s administrative machinery for expansion of extremist activities. It thus marred the very pivotal purpose for which the ADC was formed. Furthermore, administrative stalemate and destabilisation resulted from the repeated re-shufflements of the ADC executive committee due to frequent clashes of corrupt interests who were given priority over the development of backward tribals.

Then, a section of INPT members in the ADC quit the party and formed the NSPT, claiming to be the crusaders against insurgency and corruption. This encouraged the Left Front to extend outside support to the new executive committee. However, corrupt habits persisted among a sizeable section of the NSPT while, on the other hand, the INPT launched a lucrative political horse-trading. It was then that the CPI(M) and Left Front urged the governor to do the needful as early as possible for holding fresh ADC elections and making over this constitutional body to elected representatives.

The CPI(M) state committee also noted with grave concern that in view of the coming ADC elections outlawed extremist groups like the NLFT and ATTF (Tigers) have been trying to gear up their violent atrocities to stonewall the chances of free and fair polls. At the same time, the Congress and INPT leaders are seeking to renew their unholy alliance once again. But, the state committee noted, the people’s day to day experience testifies that only the Left Front can run the ADC as a tool of struggle for comprehensive peace and progress. Hence the CPI(M) has urged all the Left Front activists and sympathisers to forthwith start an all out political and organisational initiative statewide to ensure a massive mandate to the Left Front and its allies in each and every ADC constituency.