Communist leader Manik Sarkar's advice for PM Modi

The former chief minister of Tripura Manik Sarkar said Prime Minister Modi should learn from the defeat suffered by Indira Gandhi when she was prime minister.

Agartala:The CPM politburo member and leader of the opposition in Tripura assembly, Manik Sarkar on Saturday suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take lessons from the defeat of former PM Indira Gandhi. He said, "Former PM Indira Gandhi, who once drew international applause for her significant role in Bangladesh liberation, lost her public appeal after declaring internal emergency in 1975. Eventually, she lost the subsequent election."

Sarkar, who took part in a protest in Agartala organised by all the frontal wings of his party against the contentious farm laws and the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 said, "Farmers have been protesting for the last seven months. Our party has extended full support to this movement. But, the attitude of the central government towards farmers is extremely disappointing."

The three laws along with the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, he said, are nothing but an attempt to hand over the entire agriculture sector to some crony capitalist. These attempts will not only destabilize the agriculture sector but will also significantly harm the common people, he claimed.

Referring to Indira Gandhi, he said, "Indira Gandhi was a powerful leader. She declared the emergency and put all the opposing voices behind the bars and thought elections would be over before they could do anything after being released. Crushing all the democratic norms, she continued to be in power for six years and conducted the elections in 1977, two years after the emergency was declared. But, her party had to bite the dust. "The point of recalling the darkest hours of Indian democracy today - after 46 years - is to highlight that the power is not eternal for anyone," Sarkar said.

History might be showing you a harsh picture but it bears the truth within", added Sarkar. Thousands of Left supporters had joined the rally that was scheduled to march to Raj Bhavan, but police stopped them at Circuit House, a few kilometres away from the Raj Bhavan.