Report From Ground Zero: PM Modi Draws Massive Crowds In Twin Tripura Rallies

In a state with 24 lakh voters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's twin rallies in Tripura on Thursday attracted about two lakh people, whose full-throated cries of 'chalo paltai' (let's unseat this government) sounded like a bugle call for change.

And in trademark style, Modi coined another catchy slogan: "Manik hatao, HIRA lao". The 'Manik' here being Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar and HIRA being the acronym for 'Highway, I-Way (digital connectivity), Roads and Air (link)'. To ecstatic response of the crowds at Sonamura (about 70 kilometres south of state capital Agartala) and Kailashahar (170 kilometres north of Agartala), Modi said that the 'manik' (gem) that the people of Tripura have been wearing for 25 years has not brought them any gains. "Will you now take off the manik and wear the hira?" he asked. The thunderous shouts of "haan" that reverberated throughout the two towns not only found resonance across the state, but also worried the communists who have ruled Tripura for two and half decades.

PM Modi delivered a stinging rebuke of the Left which, he said, wants to keep people poor in order to cling on to power. The Prime Minister insisted that the Left’s politics of deprivation and terror has ruined Tripura. The Left Front government in the state has failed to ensure even minimum wages, he said, while the salaries of state government employees here are the lowest in the country. "Had the conditions prevailing in Tripura been present in any other part of the country, the communists would have agitated and created mayhem. They have hidden the true picture of Tripura from the rest of the country".

Accusing Tripura's Marxists rulers of using terror to perpetuate their stay in power, Modi also highlighted their corruption and nepotism. He referred to the Rose Valley and other scams and charged the Marxists with being the direct beneficiaries of these scams. The PM then promised that once the BJP comes to power in the state, it will implement the 7th Pay Commission awards for state employees, sanction Rs 5300 crore aid for development projects in the state, provide uninterrupted power and water to every household, facilitate trade and provide business opportunities, provide vocational and technical training to the youth and fast-pace infrastructure development.

Significantly, every time Modi attacked the Manik Sarkar government on corruption, lack of development, and terrorising the people of the state, he drew thunderous cheers. This is noteworthy because, till now, no citizen of this state has been able to fearlessly attend a rally of any opposition leader, leave aside raise slogans against the Left. The mammoth crowds gathered at Sonamura and Kailashahar didn't find safety in just number to raise the 'chalo paltai' slogan; even as they dispersed, they had this exhortation on their lips.