Leader of the Opposition in the Tripura Assembly, Jitendra Chaudhury, on December 13 launched a sharp attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing it of systematically encouraging drug trafficking as a political strategy to cling to power in the state.
Addressing the state conference of the All India Democratic Women Association, the CPI(M) politburo member alleged that the BJP was aware it could not secure another term through what he described as free and fair elections. According to him, this had led to an environment where anti-social elements, particularly those involved in the narcotics trade, were allowed to operate with impunity.
Chaudhury claimed that arrests made under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act frequently revealed links between the accused and senior BJP leaders. He alleged that “nine out of ten” individuals held in NDPS cases had been seen in photographs with top figures from the ruling party, suggesting political protection for organised criminal networks.
Questioning the credibility of the previous Assembly elections, he said the outcome did not reflect the genuine will of the electorate. He asserted that barely a small fraction of the current legislators would have retained their seats had the polls been conducted in a transparent manner, adding that public tolerance towards the BJP-led coalition government was steadily eroding.
The opposition leader also raised concerns over what he termed sudden and unexplained accumulation of wealth by certain individuals in the state. He said there were cases where people with no evident high-income sources had become affluent in a manner that had surprised even their neighbours.
Accusing the chief minister and senior BJP functionaries of shielding criminal elements, Chaudhury warned that popular discontent was growing. He maintained that in a democratic system, power ultimately rests with the people, and claimed that the ruling party’s decline in Tripura was inevitable due to its failure to honour promises made ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections.
