Thousands of Left activists court arrest in Tripura

AGARTALA - Over 150,000 people, including senior Left Front leaders, Thursday courted arrest in left-ruled Tripura as part of their nation-wide “jail bharo” (fill the jails) agitation in support of their demands including curbing rising prices of essential commodities.

According to police, an estimated 150,000 men and women led by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary Bijon Dhar and party’s central committee member and MP Khagen Das and including many Left legislators, heads of local bodies and tribal leaders courted arrest in 55 places across the state, mostly in front of central government offices.

The four left parties - CPI-M, Communist Party of India (CPI), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Forward Bloc - organised the agitation to demand that the government solve the unemployment problem and undertake land reforms, besides dealing with the price rise.

“The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government has rejected the left parties demand to cut customs and excise duties on crude oil to reduce retail prices of petrol and diesel. It would help in reducing prices of essential commodities,” state CPI-M spokesman Gautam Das told media persons.

Except Left-ruled West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, the land reforms were not undertaken any where else in the country, he claimed.

“If the UPA government did not learn the lesson from Thursdays successful nation-wide agitation, the left parties would intensify the struggle,” Das added.