Expressing his serious concern over reports of alleged infiltration by extremists in some bordering areas of Tripura, former Chief Minister and CPI (M) politburo member  Manik Sarkar requested the state government to take concrete steps to maintain peace inside the state and should strengthen its intelligence efforts.

Inaugurating a voluntary blood donation camp held at ‘Daily Deshar Katha’ newspaper office in Agartala on Saturday, Sarkar also urged the state government to take immediate steps to contain any cross-border movements of extremists by strengthening the border surveillance and government must strike on the sources of ultras.

“Recently, media reports claimed extremists entered inside the soil of Tripura and the government must strengthen its intelligence and gather more information over the alleged movements  and if the government is not aware of such information, then it is a glaring instance of their weakness,” said Sarkar.

He said that during the period of previous Left Front governments, efforts were made to get more information over movements of ultras and the government had also strengthened border surveillance with maximum deployment of security forces along with BSF. The Left Front government had always made their efforts with the help of peace loving people of Tripura and often strike on the sources of ultras to abolish them from their roots, said Sarkar.

Sarkar called on the government to clarify its stance, saying, the state administration should know through which borders these militants are entering Tripura and the locations of their current activities. Without such information, how can they act effectively? During LF tenure, the government ensured such details were consistently monitored.

He also said that security forces like the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) were empowered to safeguard the borders without political interference and forces have ensured the peace inside the state. The previous governments never compromised with security and had given free hands to the forces to ensure peace and zero-militancy.

Sarkar said that people of the state always stand with peace and they also want to live and peace, but in present days there are political interference to create division among communities.

“The political forces are now very much active to create division and hatred among Hindus and Muslims, tribals and non-tribals for their political gain, but the state government should deal with such forces with strict hands and division among communities should be stopped,” said Sarkar.

The current government must intensify its efforts to secure the borders and curb militant activities and it is their responsibility to protect the state’s harmony and peaceful co-existence of all communities, said Sarkar.

SarKar also slammed the state government and urged for strengthening economic liberty for poor people of the state and should take more employment generation steps to reduce suffering of common people.