Congress: struggle for relevance and subversion from within

Agartala, Jul 11, 2011 : They had reached Delhi with high hopes but returned dejected to find themselves relegated to the margins of the agitational programme against Common Entrance Test (CET) of Tripura Medical College (TMC). Perennially dissident Congress MLAs Sudip Roy Barman and Asish Saha exercised the easiest option at disposal to return to the spotlight: sponsoring a bandh call via the pliant Youth Congress and NSUI. In defiance of the clear directive issued by PCC chief Surajit Dutta against sponsoring a bandh on the issue of police excesses on Congress supporters and media persons yesterday Youth Congress and NSUI have done what they are best at by calling a twelve hour Agartala bandh on July 13. More than seventy five persons including five police constables and eleven media persons had sustained injuries yesterday in brickbatting and lathicharge by police even as more than 1500 Congress workers and supporters opposing common entrance test (CET) for admission to first year MBBS in Tripura Medical College (TMC) were detained.

Even though a number of Congress leaders including municipal councillor Tushar Bhattacharjee and former councillor Rajendra Dhyani sustained serious injuries the Pradesh Congress remained restrained in its reaction yesterday, demanding only a judicial inquiry into police excesses. The leader of the opposition Ratanlal Nath and PCC president Surajit Dutta had clearly stated that Congress would not issue a bandh call in view of the ongoing weeklong 'Kharchi' festival and inconvenience it might cause to the people. 

Sudip’s dedicated follower and Youth Congress President Sushanta Chowhdury quickly roped in NSUI president Vicky Prasad this morning and approached PCC president Surajit Dutta for permission to call the bandh . But Dutta flatly refused, citing the 'Kharchi' puja and growing unpopularity of the 'bandh' as a form of protest. But the duo returned and gave the bandh call in a press-meet. 'We are calling a bandh on Wednesday but confining it to Agartala in view of the 'Kharchi' puja; what the police did yesterday needs to be protested' said Sushanta.

Being briefed about the bandh call PCC president Surajit Dutta spoke to the party high command in Delhi and informed AICC of how the Youth Congress and NSUI had issued bandh call defying PCC. 'I opposed the bandh call and have already informed the AICC of what has happened; now it is for the AICC to initiate measures' said Dutta . He added that PCC would not openly oppose the bandh because that would be 'tantamount to washing dirty line in public'. Dutta said that yesterday the PCC had announced a weeklong protest programme across the state in the form of sit-ins , demonstrations in all blocks and 'burning of the effigy' of chief minister Manik Sarkar to protest police excesses on 'peaceful' demonstrators of Congress and media-persons yesterday . 'In view of the programme already announced by PCC and also for other reasons I have cited I considered a bandh call completely redundant and counter-productive' said the PCC president. But defiance seems to be the key weapon of the subversive dissidents with the AICC looking always away.