CITU rally in Agartala: Former Tripura CM Manik Sarkar accuses state government of authoritarian rule

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) organised a large rally at Orient Chowmuhani in Agartala, Tripura, bringing together workers, trade union representatives and senior Left leaders to raise concerns over labour rights, democratic freedoms and the political situation in the state.

Organised under the initiative of the CITU Tripura State Committee, the rally saw several prominent leaders address the gathering, including Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury, former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, CITU All India General Secretary A. Karim, CITU president Sudip Dutta, state general secretary Shankar Dutta and women labour leader Panchali Bhattacharya.

The meeting was presided over by CITU state president Manik Dey.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the rally, former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar accused the state government of curtailing people's democratic rights and allowing lawlessness to prevail.

"There is neither freedom nor rights for the people. The state is being run like a jungle, with lawlessness prevailing," Sarkar alleged, describing incidents of attacks as evidence of what he termed a corrupt and authoritarian government.

He also claimed that the government was increasingly concerned about public awareness of the prevailing political situation and was attempting to manipulate the electoral process to remain in power.

"The people have experience and understand what is happening, and that is precisely what the government fears. Out of this fear, the government is attempting to turn the electoral process into a farce to cling to power," he said.

Sarkar added that people would eventually resist such attempts and bring an end to the situation, asserting that the government could not sustain its present course indefinitely.