Political Violence in Tripura After BJP’s win in 4 States
Kolkata/ Agartala: A mayhem has started in Tripura, where the opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist) alleged that their cadres and offices are facing targetted political violence after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Assembly poll victory in four states on Thursday.
A number of offices of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and mass organisations have been looted or gutted in the political violence taking place in Tripura for the last 24 hours. The CPI(M) has accused the ruling BJP of instigating the violence on the side of the party’s victory celebrations.
In the capital city of Agartala, the central office of Tripura motor workers' unions was looted and all the furniture at the office was demolished. In Ranjitnagar, the grocery shop of Communist Party of India (Marxist) supporter Bijoy Biswas was demolished. The office of the sub-divisional committee of CPI(M) and lawyer Minhaj Ahmad was attacked. In Durga Chowmuhani, the shop of party worker Apu Pal was destroyed. In Krishnagar, the home of CPI(M) local committee member Gopal Malakar was bombed upon.
Such attacks has been reported from all over the state; even the home of the party’s state secretariat member Pabitra Kar was attacked. Many shops have been looted or gutted as well.
In Jirania Khairpur, Ranir Bazaar, parts of Agartala, Melaghar, Rajnagar, Mohanpur, Kumarghat, and Fatikray violence continued throughout Thursday night. More than 100 party workers have been attacked and their properties demolished, according to initial estimates given by sources.
Notably, the Tripura Chief Minister has not yet condemned the violence. A total of 39 incidents have happened so far, including attacks on mosques and homes of Left workers from minority communities.
In Bishalgarh, the office of the CPI(M) local committee was razed to the ground with a bulldozer. Three CPI(M) workers were beaten up and injured, all of them Muslims–Narwar Dulal Hossain, Khurshed Alam, and Sajjad Khan. In the Kumarghat division, the party’s area committee office was looted, and its furniture was destroyed. Reports of arson and violence have also come en mass from Jamalpur, Sonamura, and Sadar divisions of the state.
In an open letter to the Chief Minister of Tripura, CPI(M) Tripura state secretary Jitendra Choudhury reminded him that as per his constitutional oath, he is responsible for protecting civil rights, people’s life and property. “However, it is a matter of deep regret that during your tenure as chief minister in the last 47 months, a political party (ruling party) is continuously indulging in these sort of attacks,” Choudhury wrote. He has demanded the chief minister to fulfil his constitutional responsibilities, probe each occurrences of attack, and take legal action against culprits in all the cases.
The CPI(M) West Bengal state committee has called for a day of protests in West Bengal against the attacks while strongly condemning the violence, which they say is being perpetrated by the BJP. CPI(M) West Bengal State Secretary Suryakanta Mishra also demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits and called for reinstatement of the rule of law in Tripura. The party also directed all its units in West Bengal to protest against the acts of violence in the neighbouring state.
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