The Tripura Rajya Upajati Ganamukti Parishad (TRUGMP), an indigenous wing of the Opposition CPM on Thursday called for a massive protest rally on Saturday, with an appeal to save democracy and protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Addressing a news conference on Thursday afternoon, the president of the unit and former CPM legislator Jitendra Chaudhury alleged that for nearly two years the state had witnessed unrest and a crisis of food and jobs after the BJP formed the government in 2018.

“There are no jobs in the state. Even the crime rate has increased. The government has promised that they will increase the man-days of the MGNREGA but nothing has been done. The poor people in the rural areas are now living in a very bad state,” Chaudhury said.

He claimed that people in rural areas are crossing the borders to earn money and are forced to leave their state in search of work in other states and facing different problems.

“They promise that they will provide 50,000 jobs but it has been 23 months they have formed the government there was not a single recruitment done. They have said they will regularise all the contractual and part-time workers under the state government but nothing has been done yet. They are just simply insulting the youths and the unemployed people of the state,” he told reporters.

He also blamed the government for government sectors and handing over them to the private parties.

“The government is selling the public sector properties and the unemployed youths will not get any jobs due to outsourcing. The government has to stop taking such decisions. It’s a direct attack on democracy by the ruling BJP,” the tribal leader said.

He alleged that after the formation of the BJP government in the state, a series of attacks has been carried out by the ruling party cadres on the Opposition party members of the state.

“On Saturday, we have organised a rally with an appeal to save democracy and protesting against the CAA. Our main slogan will be To Save the Constitution, to Save the Country and to save NE. We will start our rally in front of Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhawan here and will gather in the Swami Vivekananda Maidan here,” Chaudhury said.

Former PCC chief and Tripura’s royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Deb Burman has organised a bike rally on Saturday at Khumulwng, the headquarters of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous district council (TTAADC), protesting against the CAA.