Concerned over the possibility of rigging during the June 23 by-polls to the four assembly constituencies of Tripura, the opposition CPI-M party on Wednesday appealed to the voters to remain alert and cast vote in favour of the Left front candidates to oust the ‘undemocratic’ force.
The CPI-M party’s Sadar district president Ratan Das in a press conference on Wednesday accused the ruling BJP party and alleged large scale vote rigging during the past elections in Tripura were witnessed.
He alleged, “As the election is drawing near, the miscreants and the hooligans under the instigation of the BJP leaders have already started unleashing terror across the state and is readying their deck to create further terror during the polling day.”
“People started questioning and they are concerned about whether there will be a smooth and peaceful vote this time. Such questions were not raised earlier during the Left rule. However, people of this state witnessed large scale violence and vote rigging during the past elections under the rule of BJP government in Tripura,” he said.
He took on the ruling BJP party on Wednesday and continued alleging that during the last 53 months vote was merely as name and people were not allowed to exercise their franchise. “The candidates were beaten up and were forced to withdraw their nomination papers. We had seen how the oppositions were heckled from participating in the vote and people were made scared with the terror tactics,” he alleged.
The CPI-M leader appealed to the voters to cast their vote in favor of the Left front and said that the BJP needs to be given a lesson this time. “We need to give a lesson to the BJP which had snatched the right to vote of the general public in the past,” he said.
Senior party leader and former minister of the previous Left front government PabitraKar in the press conference slammed the ruling BJP party and alleged irregularities in the agriculture sector.
He alleged that the BJP party indulged in a massive corrupt practice over the procurement of paddy from the farmers. “Series of irregularities were found from the report of assembly, where funds sanctioned for procurement of paddy from farmers were embezzled by the BJP’s mandals,” he alleged.