Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday asserted that politics cannot be driven by muscle power or communal provocation, emphasising the need to maintain peace and harmony in the state.
Saha, also a senior BJP leader, welcomed 339 voters from 109 families, mostly belonging to tribal communities, who joined the BJP at a function at Mandwai in West Tripura district.
Saturday’s joining of 339 voters came a day after 6,400 voters, mostly tribals, joined the BJP at Krishnapur in Khowai district. The latest induction also followed another event four days earlier, when 690 tribal voters from 200 families joined the ruling party in the presence of the Chief Minister at Takarjala in Sepahijala district on October 22.
Earlier this month and in September, several hundred tribals had also joined the BJP, further strengthening the party’s base in the tribal areas ahead of early next year’s crucial elections to the politically significant Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
Addressing the function, the Chief Minister said that the state government is working for the welfare of people in the janajati (tribal) areas, and that the BJP is committed to freeing the state from the politics of fear.
“Attempts to silence people’s voices through muscle power will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” Saha said, making a veiled attack on the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), the BJP’s junior ally. “If anyone attacks us, we will give a befitting reply through legal means,” he reiterated.
The Chief Minister’s remarks came in the wake of the violent attack by a section of TMP-affiliated Tiprasa Civil Society (TCS) activists during a shutdown at Santirbazar in Dhalai district on Thursday (October 23). More than 12 people were injured in the violence and widespread destruction that followed.
The injured included Salema Block Development Officer (BDO) Abhijit Majumdar, Kamalpur Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Samudra Debbarma, Engineer Animesh Saha, and trader Subrata Paul.
Saha said, “I always feel that no one can be braver than the janajatis (tribals). The janajatis are indeed brave, but this courage does not mean hitting someone on the head with a stick. True courage means confidently expressing one’s expertise and having leadership qualities, which are very much present among the janajatis.”
He added that Tripura had long suffered under a politics of fear, which the BJP is determined to eradicate.
“Wherever the communists have ruled, scenes of murder, terrorism, and arson have been witnessed,” Saha claimed.
The Chief Minister said that since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, the nature of politics in the entire country has changed, and India has emerged as a strong nation under his leadership.
“We are also trying to work in the direction shown by the Prime Minister. But attempts are being made to create an atmosphere of anarchy in Tripura. We have the right to do politics anywhere. Now there is no monarchy; there is democracy. In democracy, anyone can go anywhere,” he said.
“How long can one continue with physical force and communal provocation? In one incident at Takarjala, a 75-year-old woman was stabbed in the leg. Under what circumstances can this be justified? What kind of politics is this?” Saha asked.
He stated that the CPI (M) ruled in Tripura, West Bengal, and Kerala for years, but in Tripura, the BJP came to power in 2018 under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, ending communist rule.
Saha warned that if any party tries to suppress people’s voices by force, the government will take all necessary action.
“I have repeatedly said that if politics is done in a democratic spirit, we will coexist peacefully. But if pressure is exerted through unfair means to tarnish the government or the party, we will not tolerate it,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister reiterated that the BJP government is committed to the welfare and development of people in the janajati areas.
“I am happy to see the growing presence of janajati mothers and sisters in recent programmes. They understand the importance of development and harmony, and they have a special role to play in strengthening the Bharatiya Janata Party,” he added.
The function was attended by BJP state President Rajib Bhattacharya, former Lok Sabha member Rebati Tripura, BJP State General Secretary Bipin Debbarma, and other senior leaders.
