Agartala, July 5: The Reang tribal community, cutting across political affiliations, are preparing to organise a procession at the state capital to protest the forced resignation of minister for primitive group programme Manindra Reang. A major political row is also brewing between the CPM and its partner, the CPI.
CPI leader D.P. Sengupta said ever since the break-up of the undivided Communist Party in 1964, the CPI gradually lost its base and strength. CPM domination adversely affected the Shantir Bazar Assembly constituency.
Although the CPI was a claimant to this seat, the CPM nominated its senior leader Bajuban Reang from the constituency, denying its partner a representation in the House.
Bajuban Reang won and became agriculture minister but he was dropped from the ministry. He was given a ticket for the Lok Sabha election in 1996, much to the dismay of local residents of Shantir Bazar. Between 1996-1998, Narayan Rupini of CPM represented the constituency as an MLA though he originally belongs to another subdivision.
Sengupta said the CPI?s claim to the constituency had been accepted in 1998 and veteran party leader Durbajay Reang won and became jail minister in 1998 but he died within a year. As the by-election to the constituency became inevitable, the CPM started its arm-twisting tactics and forced the CPI to nominate its own cadre and schoolteacher Balaram Reang.
Balaram Reang also served as jail minister for three years between 1999 and 2003 but was unceremoniously dropped from nomination since CPM had become sceptical about his political loyalty. Before that, the CPM pulled off another coup by forcing the CPI to nominate party member and Shantir Bazar local committee member Manindra Reang as candidate for election to the Autonomous District Council (ADC) in May 2000.
Before the last Assembly election held in February 2003 the CPM again forced the CPI to drop Balaram Reang from nomination and put up Manindra Reang as its candidate.
Reang won the election and became minister for primitive group programme. When the CPM proposed dropping Manindra Reang as part of downsizing,the CPI strongly protested the move, saying it would render them unrepresented in the ministry. Manindra Reang was awaiting a word from the party leader and chief minister Manik Sarkar before putting in his papers. The CPM leadership, especially finance minister Badal Chowdhury, was put in charge of securing Manindra Reang?s resignation by any means.
The state CPI leadership has already taken up the issue with the party?s central bosses for a solution.
But the reaction in the Reang community has caught the party unawares. Discontent is mounting in Shantir Bazar Assembly constituency as an all-party committee is being formed to press for keeping representation of the area in the council of ministers intact.
Sources in the CPM, however, refused to attach much importance to the resentment among Reangs, saying, ?Manindra Reang was our man and was dropped to fulfil a constitutional requirement through downsizing of the ministry from 18 to 12?. However, CPI leader Sengupta said the CPM was ?humiliating the CPI and using Shantir Bazar constituency as its pocket borough?.