Reign of goons prevailing in Tripura, democracy has been throttled: CPIM state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury

Tripura CPIM state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury on July 15 alleged that the present state government is sheltering goondas under the same roof and that democracy has already been throttled, with a reign of goondas prevailing in Tripura.

He said this after a rally and a martyrdom day programme of CPIM leader Badal Shill, which was supposed to take place at Chotta Khola under South District, was allegedly disrupted by BJP workers.

Soon after tensions escalated, Tripura Police, led by Additional Superintendent of Police Suman Majumder and others, rushed to the spot and prevented the CPIM leaders from moving forward.

Speaking to the media, Chaudhury, who is also the Leader of the Opposition, said that today, the CPIM had gathered there with proper permission from the government.

"We had taken permission at least four days back and came here, but the failure of the Tripura Police was not expected," Chaudhury said. He added that he had spoken to the Director General of Police a day earlier, expressing concerns that the programme could be disrupted.

According to Chaudhury, the DGP had assured him that necessary instructions would be issued to the South Tripura Superintendent of Police. However, he alleged that BJP supporters had gathered at the venue from the morning and created disturbances despite the presence of police personnel.

Questioning the police deployment, Chaudhury said the South District SP had informed the DGP that adequate forces had been stationed at the site, but argued that the arrangements were ineffective in preventing the alleged disruption.

He further accused the state government of "living with goondas under the same roof" and alleged that "democracy has already been throttled, with a reign of goondas prevailing in Tripura".

Claiming that the incident reflected a breakdown of law and order, Chaudhury alleged that the police were protecting those responsible for disrupting the programme instead of safeguarding democratic rights. He asserted that the CPIM would continue to organise the annual event at Chotta Khola and vowed to "restore democracy by ending the reign of goondas".