BJP Rule in Tripura: A Year of Attacks on Opposition, False Promises, U-Turns

In March 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) completed one year in office in Tripura. Allying with the IPFT in the February 2018 Assembly election and giving the slogan of “Chalo Paltai” (Let’s Change), the BJP unseated the Left Front government that was ruling the state since 1993.

However, one year of BJP-IPFT rule in Tripura has witnessed unprecedented physical attacks on the opposition, particularly the Communist Party of India (Marxist), showing scant regard for democracy, constitutional principles and rule of law. During this period, the BJP government also failed to keep the promises made before the elections and has even backtracked on those.

Physical Attacks on CPI (M) Cadres, Supporters

Since the day the election result was announced on March 3, 2018, Tripura has seen a wave of attacks on the opposition, particularly on the CPI (M), by the BJP-IPFT alliance. These include attacks on homes of CPI (M) workers, burning, looting and forceful capture of party offices and alleged murder of party workers, whose families have also been targeted.

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Attempts have also been made to destroy the livelihood of CPI (M) cadres and supporters to prevent them from participating in any political activity. These include attacks on their shops and destruction of agricultural fields, ponds and rubber trees owned by them. Symbols associated with the Left too have been targeted by the BJP. In fact, two days the Assembly election, a statue of Lenin was brought down by BJP supporters in Belonia town amid chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. All this has continued with the patronage of the state administration and the law and order. It has been reported that in several cases the police have not acted on the perpetrators of violence despite FIRs being filed against them.  In fact, counter cases have been foisted on the victims by the attackers in several cases.

Both non-tribals (Bengalis) and tribals close to CPI (M) have been targets of these attacks. The BJP’s coalition partner, IPFT, which talks of protecting the rights of tribal people, has not only remained a mute spectator in these attacks, but has also reportedly connived in some of these attacks on Left cadres, particularly tribals. For example, Bhagya Joy Tripura, a counting agent of the CPI (M) from Sabroom division of South Tripura district, was one of the first targets of the BJP-IPFT, as was Ajendra Reang, a Tribal Youth Federation activist from Amarpur in Gomati district, who was brutally killed by miscreants allegedly close to the ruling alliance.

A significant reflection of this violence in Tripura could be seen in the September 2018 panchayat bye-elections where 96% of the seats were won uncontested by BJP, as the opposition candidates were prevented from filing their nominations. The attacks have continued even during the upcoming Lok Sabha election wherein the two CPI (M) candidates have been targeted at several places during the campaign.

False Promises, U-Turns on Jobs

The BJP government in Tripura has failed to keep its promises made during the elections. This is particularly true with regard to jobs and employment generation and social security.

BJP’s “Vision Document for Tripura 2018”, released before the 2018 Assembly election, had promised “one employment opportunity to every household”. However, within a month of the election result, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb took a U-turn and claimed in a public meeting in Agartala that BJP had never promised government jobs to all unemployed youth of the state! In fact, on April 30, 2018, he even advised jobless youth that they should go for self-employment through setting up paan shops and rearing cows instead of running after government jobs.

During the Assembly election campaign in February 2018, Tripura BJP observer and National Secretary Sunil Deodhar, while addressing a rally, asked the crowd to give a missed call on a particular number and they would be given jobs when BJP came to power. Far from jobs, the phone number now says it is switched off!

BJP’s Vision Document had promised to fill 50,000 vacancies in the state government within a year. However, no attempt has been made in this direction. In fact, taking a complete U-turn in December 2018, the state government imposed a set of restrictions on creating new government jobs. It also advised abolition of vacant posts that were no longer required in case new ones were being created.

The BJP had also said that it would regularise all contractual employees working in state government departments. However, the party is now silent on this issue and has been encouraging contractual work and outsourcing. It has also rendered people jobless. For example, in April 2018, all the Japan-aided projects run by the Japan International Co-operation Agency in Tripura were discontinued by the Tripura government, rendering over 600 employees jobless.

No Increase in Minimum Wages, MGNREGA Dilution

Before coming to power, the BJP promised to increase minimum wages to Rs 340 per day. One year later, there is no sign of any plan to do so. The rural job guarantee scheme, MGNREGS, is also being diluted. Under the Left Front government, Tripura had topped in providing maximum days of MNREGA work per person from 2011 to 2014 – with more than 80 days. Today, this has dropped down by half to 42 days under BJP.

The jumla on Seventh Pay Commission

Extending the benefits of Seventh Central Pay Commission (CPC) to all employees was one of the main promises of BJP, which had said it would do this in the first cabinet meeting itself. But after almost seven months, what the employees and teachers got was “Tripura Pay Matrix 2018”. What the government has done is a mere increase in the fitment factor by 32 points compared with what the Left Front government had already declared.

State government staff has not been given allowances and other benefits extended to the central government employees as per recommendations of Seventh CPC. And this enhanced pay, too, has been extended only to employees of the state government and not to employees of Tripura Tribal Area Autonomous District Council, Agartala Municipal Corporation or other local bodies, state PSUs, etc. Employees are yet to get 12% dearness allowance, as nothing has been released in the past one year.

Also, the BJP-led government has introduced a new contributory pension scheme for employees joining from July 1, 2018, closing down the universal post-retirement pension scheme that the Left Front government had continued till it was in office despite the Central government opting for it way back in 2004.

The writer is a PhD student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. The views are personal.

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