CPI(M) to Conduct Rally in Agartala Tomorrow Despite Police Venue Denial

Agartala, Jan 28 (NationPress) The principal opposition party in Tripura, CPI(M), will organize a significant public assembly here on Wednesday as part of its three-day 24th state conference, even though the BJP government has not provided any venue for the gathering.

CPI(M) politburo member and former Chief Minister (1998-2018) Manik Sarkar and the party’s state Secretary Jitendra Chaudhury have both asserted that the mass public meeting will proceed regardless of circumstances.

“We have repeatedly requested the police to assign any of three venues for our public gathering, but they have yet to grant permission for any location. They keep providing excuses for the venue denial,” stated Chaudhury, who serves as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state.

Chaudhury mentioned that the party had applied a month in advance for permission to hold a meeting on January 29 at Swami Vivekananda Maidan Stadium in Agartala. He noted, "The state government rejected our request, citing a prior scheduled Self-Help Group (SHG) fair at the same location, and further requests for other venues were also denied."

The LoP accused the government of politically motivated denial, implying that they fear a significant turnout of citizens unhappy with their governance.

He contended that the timing of the SHG fair was intentionally chosen to conflict with the CPI(M) event, asserting that the fair could have been rescheduled or moved to a different venue to accommodate the rally.

Chaudhury also mentioned that when he approached Chief Minister Manik Saha for an alternative venue, Umakanth school ground, the Chief Minister initially promised to consider the request, but formal police permission remains ungranted.

Chaudhury, also a member of the CPI(M) central committee and former minister, alleged that “BJP-backed individuals” vandalized flags, festoons, banners, and decorative gates set up for the three-day state conference.

Prominent party leaders, including Prakash Karat, Manik Sarkar, and Chaudhury, will address the public rally on Wednesday. Former Chief Minister Sarkar criticized the BJP-led government, accusing it of failing to fulfill its promises made to the populace prior to assuming power in 2018.

Both Sarkar and Chaudhury vehemently condemned the “undemocratic mindset of the BJP government.”

A CPI(M) leader noted that prior to the 24th congress of the party, conferences for all state committees nationwide must be completed, and the formation process for branch, local, divisional, and district committees must be finalized before the state conference.

The CPI(M)’s 24th congress is set to occur from April 2 to 6, 2025, in Madurai. The three-day 24th state conference will take place from January 29 to 31 in Agartala. This will mark the second state conference in Tripura since the BJP came to power in 2018.

The party leader indicated that during this state conference, the Left party would establish a roadmap for future strategies and programs aimed at highlighting the “misgovernance of the ruling BJP and various fundamental issues affecting the populace.”

The CPI(M)-led Left Front governed Tripura for 35 years across two periods: 1978-1988 and 1993-2018. The Left parties faced a significant defeat in the 2018 and 2023 Assembly elections, leading to the rise of the BJP-Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) coalition.