By TC News Desk
Agartala, 1st September 2025; Members of the Amra Bangali party staged a fiery protest today outside their state headquarters in Agartala, accusing former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar of spreading misinformation about Bengalis during a public rally at Teliamura yesterday.
Demonstrators burned placards bearing Sarkar’s image and chanted slogans condemning his alleged remarks. The party’s state secretary, Gouranga Rudra Pal, addressed the media, claiming that Sarkar’s statements were part of a long-standing pattern of anti-Bengali sentiment within the CPI(M).
Pal revisited the events of June 1980, alleging that a mass killing of Bengalis occurred shortly after CPI(M) came to power in 1978. He claimed that over 6,000 Bengalis were killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, and women subjected to sexual violence during that period. According to Pal, then-Chief Minister Nripen Chakraborty had consulted Sarkar prior to the violence, suggesting complicity at the highest levels of leadership.
He further alleged that the CPI(M)-led government later rewarded thousands of surrendered extremists with cash and government jobs, naming former legislators Lalit Debbarma and Khagendra Jamatia as examples of insurgents who were elevated to political office.
Pal cited a controversial statement attributed to Chakraborty: “Had I been born in a tribal household, I too would have become an extremist,” arguing it reflected the ideological roots of militancy in the state.
He also criticized Sarkar’s 1999 remarks during the installation of a statue of freedom fighter Surya Sen in Teliamura, where Sarkar reportedly said that “some misguided youths are dreaming of an independent Tripura.” Pal interpreted this as tacit support for separatist movements.
Adding fuel to the fire, Pal referred to recent comments by opposition leader Jitendra Choudhury, who allegedly cited a London-based news agency suggesting that power could be transferred to extremists in Tripura following a Mizoram-style peace accord. Pal argued this further proves CPI(M)’s role in fostering insurgency.
He accused both the CPI(M) and the current government of continuing to appease extremists while failing to deliver justice to displaced Bengalis. “Bengalis are being forced to take to the streets to demand their rights,” Pal said, warning that Amra Bangali would remain a thorn in the side of any administration that undermines Bengali interests.
In a scathing conclusion, Pal labeled CPI(M) as anti-religion, anti-Bengali, and accused them of orchestrating mass killings globally. He called for their political ouster, describing their ideology as “animalistic” and devoid of moral values.
