Agartala, 7th August 2026: The Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee’s Sadar District Committee on Friday organised a protest demonstration in Agartala, alleging large-scale corruption, misuse of public funds and administrative failures in the implementation of the Smart City project.
The Congress accused those responsible for executing development projects in the capital of turning Agartala into a “living hell” in the name of transforming it into a Smart City, while allegedly misappropriating crores of rupees collected from taxpayers.
Addressing reporters during the protest, PCC chief spokesperson Prabir Chakraborty said the demonstration was organised against what he described as “anarchy, arrogance, corruption, absence of democracy and misappropriation of development funds” across the country and the state.
“Today, our protest march is a response to the prevailing anarchy, arrogance, corruption, absence of democracy and the misappropriation of development funds across the nation and the state,” Chakraborty said.
He specifically targeted the implementation of the Smart City project in Agartala, alleging that a “group of looters” had been allowed to misuse public money in the name of development.
According to Chakraborty, the Congress had initially planned to hold the demonstration in front of the offices of the Smart City project implementation department and the Water Department. However, he alleged that the party was denied permission to proceed beyond Orient Chowmuhani.
He claimed that the restriction was imposed as Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha was scheduled to attend a meeting at Rabindra Bhawan at 3 PM.
“Democracy in this state has been trampled to such an extent that the Congress, the oldest party carrying the legacy of the freedom struggle, was denied permission to even reach Orient Chowmuhani,” Chakraborty said.
Despite the restrictions, the Congress proceeded with a shorter protest route and staged a demonstration at Orient Chowmuhani. Chakraborty said the party had chosen to maintain peace while highlighting what it termed the “deliberately created plight” faced by residents of Agartala.
The Congress demanded greater accountability in the implementation of development projects and alleged that the government must explain how public funds are being utilised under the Smart City initiative.
