SFI, NSUI condemn vandalism of school staff room by ruling party Panchayat member in Sonamura

The student wings of opposition parties, including the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), on Wednesday strongly condemned an incident in which a ruling party Gram Panchayat member allegedly created havoc and vandalized the staff room of a school during school hours in Sonamura, sparking widespread outrage across the state.

Despite the incident occurring more than 24 hours earlier, the ruling party’s student organization, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), and the BJP leadership have remained silent. In protest, SFI organized a march in Sonamura under Sepahijala district, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused BJP leader and Gram Panchayat member.

During the protest march, SFI demanded that police register a suo motu case and arrest Motasim Billal, Ward No. 3 member of Kalapaniya Gram Panchayat, and bring him to justice. The march, held in Sonamura town on Wednesday afternoon, was led by SFI’s Sonamura sub-divisional secretary, Anisur Rahman.

Speaking to the media, Rahman said that forcibly entering a teachers’ room, threatening teachers, attempting physical assault and vandalising government property was a “highly condemnable” act. He alleged that the incident exposed the “true condition of the education system under the so-called good governance.” Rahman further claimed that since 2018, students in schools and colleges have been facing severe insecurity due to the actions of ruling party miscreants, even as government leaders continue to claim that discipline has returned to educational institutions.

He also alleged that elected representatives of the ruling party at the Panchayat level have failed to uphold the dignity of their offices, asserting that they were not elected democratically through the people’s mandate.

Meanwhile, NSUI leader Amir Hussain, in a statement, said the organization strongly demanded immediate and stringent action by the government to prevent the recurrence of such shameful incidents. He warned that if no action is taken, the Tripura Pradesh NSUI would launch a statewide movement to restore the “collapsed education system” and stop interference by miscreants allegedly backed by those in power.

It may be recalled that on Tuesday, Motasim Billal, a ruling party member from Kalapaniya Gram Panchayat under Kathalia block of Sonamura, allegedly entered the staff room of Chandraipara JB School, vandalized chairs, verbally abused teachers using foul language, and threatened them with dire consequences. The incident reportedly occurred after he was not invited to a school uniform distribution programme. A video of the incident went viral on social media, triggering outrage not only in Sonamura but across Tripura.

Despite the seriousness of the incident, no action has yet been taken by the ruling party, the education department or the administration. Members of the teaching community, including teachers of the concerned school, are reportedly maintaining silence, fearing administrative backlash and transfers.