Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hit out at the former Left-ruled Tripura government, alleging that it treated people like “slaves”. The remarks came at a time when the Prime Minister held a roadshow in the northeastern state days ahead of the assembly elections. Tripura is likely to witness a three-cornered contest between the BJP, the Congress-Left alliance and the relatively new Tipra Motha.
“The communist regime had pushed Tripura to the brink of destruction. The people of Tripura can never forget the anarchic situation in which activists had taken every aspect of life hostage. The Left had treated the people of Tripura as slaves and themselves as kings,” Modi said.
The opposition alliance in the state, Modi asserted, will never develop Tripura. He said that their efforts have brought the state to the brink of ruin.
“The youth and women of Tripura have shown a red card to Chanda and Jhanda Company. The people of Tripura have already declared that they want a government of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ with absolute majority,” he said.
Incidentally, this was the Prime Minister’s second visit to the poll-bound state within a week.
Over the past few days, several top BJP leaders have claimed that the party will register a landslide victory, surpassing the record-setting 2018 record. Emphasizing that the BJP “does politics of change, not revenge”, the PM said his party is working relentlessly to “fill the potholes dug during the last 25-30 years”.
“Communists ruled Tripura for three decades and killed political opponents before every election,” he said.
Meanwhile, a three-member delegation of the CPI(M) led by general secretary Sitaram Yechury met the Election Commission in Delhi on Monday and warned the Election Commission that there could be violence during the elections in Tripura.
“These motorcycle-riding gangs will try to terrorize and create fear by the ruling BJP among voters belonging to opposition parties. Other methods of intimidation were also being used to influence the voters.”
The elections are to be held on February 16, with the counting of votes taking place on March 2.
(with inputs from agencies)
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