Agartala, August 8:
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday staged protests across Tripura, including in the state capital Agartala, against the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, terming it an “anti-democratic exercise” aimed at benefitting the BJP.
In Agartala, the protest rally began from Paradise Chowmuhani, with participants raising slogans against the SIR initiative.
Senior CPI(M) leaders, including former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, former minister Manik Dey, and Opposition Leader Jitendra Chaudhury, joined the rally and later addressed the gathering.
Chaudhury, also a former MP and CPIM Politburo member, alleged that the ruling BJP’s ally in Tripura, Tipra Motha, had informed after meeting with the ECI that a similar SIR exercise would be conducted in the state to identify illegal immigrants on the electoral rolls.
He claimed the move was designed to create divisions between tribal and non-tribal communities and polarise citizens for their political gain.
The CPI(M) leader argued that identifying and deporting illegal immigrants is the responsibility of the Union Home Ministry, not the ECI.
He accused the Home Ministry of encouraging illegal influx into Tripura, further facilitated by the Citizenship Amendment Act, while criticising Tipra Motha’s silence on the issue.
“The ECI has no authority to identify illegal immigrants. This is just another attempt, after Maharashtra and Bihar, to push SIR for the benefit of the BJP and its allies,” Chaudhury said, adding that major political parties across the country, including the CPI(M), are opposing the move.
The CPI(M) Polit Bureau had earlier resolved to intensify protests against the SIR, describing it as an “attack on democratic rights” that must be resisted nationwide.
