Tripura: CPM, Congress to hold rally under 'democratic, secular' banner

The CPI(M) and the Congress under the banner of "democratic and secular" forces are set to organise a rally here on January 21 in a bid to "save the Constitution" and "restore democracy in Tripura" ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

Those who will join the rally will not carry flags of any political party, CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Choudhury and Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman said in a joint press conference on Thursday.

A delegation of participants of the programme will submit a representation to Tripura Chief Electoral Officer Gitte Kirankumar Dinkarrao.

The people, who wish to save the Constitution and restore democracy in Tripura, will join the mega event in front of Rabindra Bhavan and will not carry flags of any political party. They will hold the national flag," Roy Barman said.

Choudhury voiced concern over the "growing" pre-poll violence in the state and claimed that the "people could not vote since the BJP came to power" in the northeastern state in 2018.

Choudhury appealed to the people to join the mega rally as their democratic rights will be "under threat if democracy is not restored in the state".

Claiming that the law and order situation has "deteriorated alarmingly" in the poll-bound state, Roy Barman said the people's experience in the past elections since the 2018 assembly polls was "not encouraging".

We will submit a representation to the CEO to ensure that electors can exercise their democratic right, which was not possible in the previous elections," he said