AGARTALA: Eight years of political violence that reduced thousands of homes to ashes, destroyed hundreds of hectares of rubber plantations, and shuttered the livelihoods of CPI(M) and Congress workers across Tripura have gone uncompensated, while the government has now moved swiftly to announce nearly Rs 65 lakh for BJP workers, opposition leaders alleged on Wednesday.
Speaking to the public with a video message, CPI(M) state secretary and Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury, speaking at a press conference, said memorandums detailing names, addresses, dates and the scale of losses have been submitted multiple times to Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, the chief secretary, and the DGP, yet nothing was done. “Not a single paisa from the government treasury has been given to thousands of victims over the past eight years,” he said.
Chaudhury alleged that after every election since 2018, including the Assembly polls, Lok Sabha elections, panchayat elections, and now the ADC election, BJP workers carried out violence against opposition members in broad daylight. “FIRs were filed with names. Memorandums were submitted. Not one FIR was taken cognizance of. Not one criminal was arrested,” he said.
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He held Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha directly responsible. “If there is one person most culpable for post-election political violence in Tripura, it is our honorable Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, who is also the Home Minister. He can speak like a gentleman all he wants, but he cannot hide his crimes,” Chaudhury said.
Meanwhile, Tripura Pradesh Congress president Asish Kumar Saha also attacked the government over what he called the misuse of a public resource. “The Chief Minister’s Relief Fund belongs to everyone—the ruling party, the opposition, and ordinary citizens. It must never be used for electoral or partisan purposes,” he said.
Saha said the selective relief is part of a broader pattern and that the chief minister has lost his moral standing. He demanded that all families affected by political violence since 2018 receive compensation and called on the administration to ensure transparency and impartiality in fund distribution.
Both parties said the police have remained passive in the face of ongoing post-election violence, leaving people across the state without any sense of security.