Cachar Protibadi Mancha has called for a 12 hours strike on Monday; Hindu Students Union to oppose the strike

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The air is getting hotter in Barak Valley, Cachar Pratibadi Mancha has called for a 12 hours strike tomorrow. The local association has appealed to the residents of the district to let the protest complete peacefully. They also wrote a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of the district stating that leaders of right wing groups are coming from outside and delivering hate speech in Barak Valley to create communal unrest, The letter also states that through speeches, the “so called upholders of religion and vigilantes are provoking people and urging them to “pick up weapons against the minorities”. In the letter the Pratibadi Mancha writes that they are calling for a strike to protest against the recent statements against the minority community and to appeal for an immediate action against, Surendra Kumar Jain, Tapan Ghosh and Debtanu Bhattacharjee.

VHP International secretary was in Barak Valley on the occasion of Ram Navami and addressed a mass gathering at Town Club ground. On March 25, the Pratibadi Mancha filed an FIR at Silchar Police Station and through media gave and ultimatum to District Administration. The leader addressing the press said, “If Jain is not arrested by Saturday they will call for a 12 hours strike on Monday.”

On the other hand many Hindu organisations have announced that they will oppose the strike. The Hindu Students Union through its social media posts mentioned that there was nothing wrong in what Jain said and they stand by the leaders words and hence will oppose the strike. The post read, “The herd minded local association Cachar Pratibadi Mancha is trying to give this a communal twist since the very beginning but is not able to succeed. They are intentionally maligning Jain’s image, something we won’t let happen, so we will oppose this strike.”

Now this allegations and counter allegations are posing serious threat to peace and harmony in the Valley. District Administration is yet to make any official comment on the entire development, strike in any form causes a lot of inconvenience for the common people and is not encouraged at all. There are many daily wagers who suffer miserably whenever there is a strike, if there is an issue one can take the judicial route to find a solution, strike certainly cannot be one. No clue what will happen on Monday, but we hope that people can reach office safely on the first working day of the new calendar year, and there is no communal tension in the district.