Agitators were peaceful and there was no provocation from the demonstrators for security personnel to resort to firing in which one of the agitators was killed. Chairman of the JMC Dr Zairemthiama Pachuau said this on Saturday and added, after a fruitful discussion with Minister Santana Chakma and MLA Bhagaban Das, JMC decided to call of the road blockade programme, however, indefinite strike in Kanchanpur will remain in force.
Notably, JMC is spearheading the agitation against mass Bru Reangs rehabilitation in Kanchanpur under North Tripura. Dr Pachuau said, “The agitation was peaceful. We are strongly condemning the act of the security personnel in which one of the agitators died and several others were injured. We are reiterating that the provocation came from the security personnel, not from the agitators and after the firing incident agitators attempted to retaliate”.
On Sunday a meeting was convened in which Deputy Speaker Biswabandhu Sen along with Minister Santana Chakma and MLA Bhagaban Das would remain present. “Tomorrow’s meeting is crucial in a sense that it would steer the movement’s future course.
According to him, a delegation of JMC is likely to meet Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on November 23 next.
Meanwhile, the main opposition parties – CPI-M and Congress – slammed the State Government for its alleged failure to handle the situation arisen over Bru rehabilitation issue. Both the parties expressed shock at firing on demonstrators and condemn the act in which one agitator died.
BJP Tripura state spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharjee on Saturday expressed concerns over the violent protests at Panisagar area. He also hoped that a fair investigation would reveal everything and the real perpetrators would be surely brought behind the bars.
Former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said, “Series of the protests are the outburst of the brewing resentment among the people regarding the decision of giving permanent settlement to the Brus in Kanchanpur. The government must have acted swiftly and talked to the protestors earlier to handle the situation. But, in spite of that the government took an adamant stance which was reflected in the way the government tried to handle the situation at Panisagar”.
Tripura Pradesh Congress chief Pijush Biswas termed the incident as fallout of government’s lack of far-sightedness and apathy. He also demanded an all party meeting to discuss the overall situation so that all the political leaders could assist the government taking a prudent step to handle the situation.
