By IANS,
Agartala: With assembly polls in Tripura drawing closer, the ruling Left Front and opposition Congress are accusing each other of using militants to sway votes.
Leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Tuesday claimed that separatist outfits, aided by a section of opposition leaders, were conspiring to oust the Left Front from power in state assembly polls scheduled for February.
Rejecting the allegations, the Congress Wednesday said it was the government which was using militants for the polls, by withdrawing 1,300 criminal cases against 736 surrendered guerrillas.
“The CPI-M and Chief Minister Manik Sarkar are patronising banned militant outfits for political interests,” Tripura Congress president Sudip Roy Barman told reporters.
“According to the guidelines of union home ministry on rehabilitation of surrendered guerrillas, the state government cannot take away cases of heinous crime against any extremist or surrendered rebel,” he said.
“Outlawed ATTF (All Tripura Tiger Force) supremo Ranjit Debbarma and NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura) leader Utpal Reang belong to CPI-M leaders’ families. A senior CPI-M leader met them in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka several times to get their support,” said Leader of Opposition Ratan Lal Nath.
Rubbishing the Congress claims, the CPI-M Wednesday reiterated its allegation that the opposit5ion party was forging alliance with the militant outfits for electoral gains.
“Withdrawal of cases against surrendered militants, except cases of crime against women, are a normal practice in many states, including Congress-ruled Assam,” CPI-M state secretary Bijon Dhar told reporters.
The CPI-M said several Congress leaders were helping strengthen militant groups and create trouble ahead of the polls.
After the arrest of five NLFT militants and recovery of Rs.2.5 million in cash, gadgets and secret documents, Tripura Police last week appealed to all surrendered militants and youth not to heed the call of separatists.
“The militants, who were arrested from a house on the outskirts of the city, were carrying money and electronic devices to pass on to their outfits in Bangladesh to procure arms. They have revealed vital information about the terrorists’ possible activities in the coming months,” a polices spokesman told reporters here.
In what is a first for Tripura, a statement from the state police headquarters said: “It has been revealed that NLFT extremists are engaged in fresh recruitment of innocent tribal youths from interior areas.”
“The guerrillas are also trying to extort money from different agencies with the help of a section of surrendered extremists and their sympathisers,” the statement added.