The opposition CPI (M) will hold its long-pending 22nd state conference on November 25-26 in Agartala Town Hall. There will be no open rally this time before the commencement of the proceedings of the conference unlike in the past when an open rally used to precede the formal beginning of the state conference. Announcing this in an interaction with the media, the CPI (M) state secretary and central committee member Bijan Dhar said that the dais of the conference in Town Hall will bear the names of late CPI (M) leaders, Khagen Das, Samir Deb Sarkar, Sandhya Debbarma and Khagendra Jamatya who passed away after the 21 state conference. The 22nd state conference, due much earlier, had to be postponed because of assembly election and the situation unfolding in its wake all over Tripura.
Dhar said that the party general secretary Sitaram Yechudi, former general secretary Prakash Karat and politburo member Brinda Karat will attend the state conference at the invitation of the Tripura state committee of the party.Explaining the decision not to hold open rally before the state conference, Bijan Dhar said that the state is passing through a phase of ‘fascist culture’ and people, specially opposition CPI (M) workers and supporters were being indiscriminately attacked. ‘It is also difficult to arrange vehicles for the programme even by hiring , so in order to avoid trouble and save our workers and supporters from harassment we have decided to skip the open rally’ said Dhar. He also blamed the state government for lacking in political will to curb violence and restore law and order situation.