Amidst a possible electoral alliance ahead of the upcoming Tripura Assembly polls, five Left parties and the Congress have jointly given an appeal to the people to come forward cutting across political identity, religion, caste and community to raise a united voice against this “misrule” of the BJP and to make an end to “this black regime”.

 

The joint appeal, signed by CPI-M’s Tripura state Secretary Jitendra Chowdhury, leaders of the CPI, the RSP, Forward Bloc, the CPI-ML and state Congress President Birajit Sinha, also demanded the Election Commission to take proactive measures to conduct the election in a healthy democratic atmosphere and ensure the right to vote of the electors freely and fearlessly.

 

It said that an “unimaginable, abnormally anarchical rule” has been prevailing in Tripura since the formation of the BJP-led alliance government in 2018.

 

“Civil rights were denied, and the individual entity of the media has been destroyed. The Independent functioning of the opposition parties has been immobilised by throttling their voice. In fact, a one-party tyrannical rule has been imposed in the state.”

 

It said that the right of the electors to freely cast vote has been snatched away during various elections held since March 2018. “The elections have been reduced to a farcical event. Intentional inactiveness of the administration, particularly of a section of the police administration, has helped the ruling party to carry on their unconstitutional and undemocratic actions and indulged the miscreants abetted by the ruling party,” the appeal said.

 

The 6-party joint appeal said that incidents like murder, terror actions, looting, and extortion of money are common and daily features in the state. The sources of means on the basis of which the people maintain day-to-day livelihood are being destroyed while people are being evicted from their ancestral land and forced to depart for other places or other states.

 

“Ferocious crimes against women are taking place in the state. The police won’t touch the criminals as they carry the identity of ruling party followers or are patronised by the top leaders. On the contrary, the framed up cases against the victims are piling up. The rule of law has been replaced by the rule of the jungle,” the appeal said.