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Tripura : Militants call for boycott of ADC polls |
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In the Marxist-ruled state of Tripura, the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) has called for a boycott of the Autonomous District Council elections, slated for March 5.
In a statement, NLFT publicity secretary David Borok said the call is in protest against enforcement of Acts like the National Security Act (NSA), the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and the Disturbed Areas Act as well as alleged repression of innocent persons by security forces. Police sources claimed that the boycott call was a reflection of the group’s desperation to make its presence felt.
CPI(M) sticks to status quo
On the political front, the ruling CPI(M) in Tripura has decided to retain its veteran party secretary Baidyanath Mazumder in his post. The decision was taken on February 18 at the end of the party’s three-day state conference. It, however, made some cosmetic changes in the composition of the powerful state committee and the state secretariat. Ailing veterans Dinesh Debbarma, Purnamohan Tripura, Brajamohan Jamatya, Anjali Debbarma and Abhijit De were notable omissions from the reconstituted state committee.
In the new state committee’s first meeting, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, acting on the advice of politburo member Prakash Karat, proposed Mazumder’s name as secretary. This was passed unanimously.
Sources in the CPI(M) said a lot of backroom manoeuvring has gone into the reconstitution of the state secretariat and state committee. Confronted with conflicting claims to the post of party secretary from Gautam Das and Bijan Dhar, Sarkar and Karat decided to retain Mazumder for the time being even though the stalwart wanted to retire from his post.
Sources said the composition of the highest bodies revealed a declining representation of the tribal community. They attributed this to an erosion in the CPI(M)’s traditional base in tribal-dominated areas.
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