RS vote boycott by Congress, Sudip and Jiten give different versions

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, September 4, 2024

The boycott of yesterday’s Rajya Sabha vote by Congress has triggered a controversy with the Congress and CPI (M) leadership giving different versions over the issue. While speaking to media yesterday the veteran Congress MLA and senior party leader Sudip Roybarman asserted that Congress had not actually ‘boycotted’ the election but only ‘abstained’ from voting. “The just-concluded Panchayat election in the state was reduced to a farce by BJP by organised rigging and strong-arm methods and the governmental machinery at all levels is being run by corrupt and tainted people; we wanted to register our protest against this ,so we abstained from voting” said Sudip. He also took a dig at the CPI (M) saying that in the run-up to the Panchayat election one of their senior leaders and candidates had been murdered by the BJP goons and the CPI (M) had an opportunity to register their protest but they unnecessarily took part in the election.

However, the leader of the opposition and CPI (M) state secretary Jiten Chowdhury gave a different version saying the decision to ‘boycott’ the Rajya Sabha polls was Congress’s own decision. “We have never had an alliance with the Congress but we arrived at only seat adjustments for polls; they are free to take their own decisions on other matters” said Jiten. He asserted that the CPI (M) knew what the outcome of the Rajya Sabha polls would be but still the party put up a candidate only to register a token protest against all that has been happening in the state. “Our fight is against the ideology, policy and principle of BJP and we deemed it fit to contest the polls as a mark of protest , so we contested” said Jiten.