Agartala: Digging into a history of alleged misgovernance, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tripura has accused the Congress and the CPI(M) of not only betraying the Constitution but also crushing the dreams of thousands of job aspirants during their respective regimes.
BJP leaders questioned the credibility of both parties to champion constitutional values while carrying what they described as a “legacy of employment injustice and youth betrayal.”
Addressing a press conference at the Tripura Pradesh BJP party office here in Agartala on Tuesday, BJP state President and Rajya Sabha MP Rajib Bhattacharjee tore into the Congress’s ongoing “Save the Constitution” campaign, calling it hypocritical. He cited a series of incidents from the 1990s where, under Congress and CPI(M) rule, thousands of government job appointments were allegedly handed out without due process — and later revoked, leaving aspirants devastated.
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“Over 3,500 teaching positions were offered during the Congress regime, along with 387 jobs in the Agartala Municipal Council (AMC) and around 300 appointments in jute mills. But the Left Front government later scrapped them, citing a lack of approval from the finance department. Was this not a mockery of constitutional responsibility?” Bhattacharjee asked.
He also revisited the controversial policy introduced by the Left Front government in April 1994, just months after coming to power in 1993. According to Bhattacharjee, the then government passed an order reserving all vacant government posts exclusively for surrendered militants belonging to the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), deliberately excluding other insurgent groups like the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), whose members had also laid down arms.
“In a shocking move, they even issued instructions to create new posts if the number of vacancies fell short of the number of surrendered ATTF members. It was only after massive public outrage and protests that the then Chief Minister was forced to roll back this illegal order,” Bhattacharjee stated.
“This exposes the true face of the Left’s so-called concern for the unemployed. If they had even a shred of shame left, they’d apologize to the youth of Tripura instead of pretending to be their saviours today,” he added angrily.
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The BJP president recalled the widespread anger among unemployed youth during that period, especially after 1996, when the education department issued appointment letters but failed to deliver secure employment. “In several districts, angry aspirants gheraoed ministers and MLAs. The unrest escalated to such levels that two ministers had to rush to the southern district to calm tensions. Violent clashes broke out in Udaipur and Belonia, and even CPI(M) leaders were not spared,” he said.
He also criticized the CPI(M) for what he termed “institutional nepotism,” saying, “Their policy of favouritism in public appointments is well documented. The public hasn’t forgotten how vacancies were reserved in April 1993 in anticipation of their return to power. That order was withdrawn only under public pressure. These are facts reported by newspapers at the time.”
Meanwhile, turning his attention to the Congress, Bhattacharjee questioned their track record with constitutional values. “The same party that now claims to be the saviour of the Constitution did not even place Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s portrait in Parliament for years. In fact, Congress worked to defeat Ambedkar in elections, never gave him the Bharat Ratna, and only under Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s initiative in 1990 was he honoured.”
He also raised the issue of President’s Rule imposed in Tripura in 1993, under a Congress-led Centre, asking, “Was the Constitution not under attack then? The state government was dismissed just before elections, and even a lawyer was jailed under the NSA.”
Additionally, Bhattacharjee referenced a 1990 civil services examination case where the Gauhati High Court ruled in 1996 that Articles 316 and 319 of the Constitution had been violated. “That ruling exposes how institutions were undermined under previous regimes,” he added.
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In a sharp swipe at the Left, Bhattacharjee said, “The CPI(M) cannot wash away its sins in the Howrah River. If they truly seek penance, they should head to the Ganges with incense sticks.”
State BJP General Secretary Amit Rakshit and other senior leaders also attended Tuesday’s press meet. The BJP leadership made it clear that they plan to counter the opposition parties’ “selective constitutionalism” by reminding them of their past actions.