Congress and CPI(M) were trying to get closer in Tripura to pull BJP out of power: ICA Minister Sushanta

With just six months left to go to the assembly elections early next year in Tripura both opposition CPI (M) and Congress today turned up the heat over alleged political vandalism of the ruling BJP even as the saffron party alleged Congress and Communists were coming closer in secret nexus.

Hundreds of Youths Congress supporters blocked the main gate of the Tripura police headquarters in Agartala on Monday, August 22 evening.

They were demonstrating protest and demanding arrest of alleged ‘BJP goons’ involved in the incident of bulldozing a gate and ransacking of a Congress supporter Keshab Sarkar’s house two days back in Majlishpur constituency from which Minister Sushanta Chowdhury is the elected BJP MLA and who according to the agitators is the mastermind behind this incident beside the recent attack on Sudip Roy Barman and which the Minister denied.

Later a seven members delegation of the Youth Congress led by its state president Rakhu Das met with senior officials and gave 72 hours ultimatum to arrest the attackers behind Keshab Sarkar's house besides suspension of Subdivisional police officer of Jirania alleging him of giving indulgence to the ruling party supporters and who, according to them, is also behind the recent attack on Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman on August 11 last at Majlishpur which comes under his jurisdiction while he was in police custody.

Earlier today, ICA Minister Sushanta Chowdhury trained guns at opposition Congress and CPIM during a press conference and alleged the two parties were coming closer again to bring back the later to power through the back door like it had happened in Tripura in 1993 after the then Prime Minister Narshima Rao had declared a President’s Rule in the state and in the following election the Congress-TUJS government was ousted as Left Front came to power and ruled the state for 25 years.

Chowdhury speaking to reporters in the BJP headquarters here also hit Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman who a day ago along with the senior leader of the Congress during a press conference at New Delhi demanded President’s Rule alleging no rule of law in Tripura under BJP rule.

The ICA Minister alleged that local Congress leaders including MLA Sudip Roy Barman by bringing all these false allegations against the BJP are in fact defaming Tripura outside in order to get the attention of the national media.

Chowdhury said Roy Barman used to allege that a “reign of terror” has been let loose by the party in power in Tripura and is now repeating the same under the BJP regime, indicating a proverbial old wine in a new bottle.

He added that Congress and CPIM were trying to get closer here to pulling BJP out of power but said the people of Tripura would give them an appropriate reply in the coming assembly election like both parties had received in West Bengal after they had formed an alliance there.

He added Congress is trying to help CPIM to return to power through the back door as they did in 1993 but this time it is not going to happen as Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister.

The Minister was accompanied by the BJP spokesman Nabendu Bhattacharjee who also raised that recently CPIM politburo member and Opposition Leader Manik Sarkar along with a few other senior leaders were seen visiting the house of a Congress leader at Jirania and who had complained that two days back his house was allegedly attacked by BJP supporters and after breaking his iron gate with a bulldozer.

The Minister raised that despite the said victim’s house being under the surveillance of CCTV cameras why could not he produce any video evidence?

On the contrary, Chowdhury alleged that the said Congress who claimed to be a victim is an antisocial and who after BJP came to power in Tripura in 2018 was put behind the bars under National Security Act for his engagement in criminal activities and which is known to all but surprisingly Manik Sarkar along with other CPIM leaders had visited his house yesterday on allegations which are not true.

Later in the evening CPIM state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury replying to the allegations brought against CPIM by Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said that Manik Sarkar and others had gone to Jirania where the house of senior CPIM leader Madhusudhan Das was attacked and two of his family members were kidnapped and critically wounded by the BJP goons on the same night in which Keshab Sarkar’s house which is very close was also ransacked. So after visiting the house of Das the CPIM delegation also visited Keshab’s house it has nothing to do with politics and it would have been inhuman if they had not gone there because the goons had totally destroyed the house, vehicles and even snatched cash and jewellery.

“We condemned the attacks which have been going on under BJP for the last four and half years rule in Tripura and we have no hesitation to say that we are willing to unite strategically all like-minded anti-BJP democratic, secular, anti-fascist forces,” said the senior CPIM leader.

However, he viewed that CPIM is not in favour of President’s Rule in Tripura which Congress had demanded a day ago but did not deny that there is a total breakdown of law and order in the state and the police has totally failed in maintaining law and order while a section is busy shielding the anti-social elements of the ruling party.

He said, “BJP has realised that they are totally isolated hence scared that if free and fair polls are going to take place here people of the state shall vote against them and so they are trying to terrorise the voters, especially the opposition but people of the state are also getting ready to teach them a lesson in order to defend their constitutional rights and resume democracy in Tripura.”

Though the senior CPIM leader and former MP Chowdhury did not deny the possibility of a CPI(M) Congress alliance in Tripura but viewed that their approach is to unite and maximise the anti-BJP vote and in Tripura, the process regarding it among the masses has already started though political parties are not working for it is not in the field but people are getting united. When masses will take decisions political party has to definitely abide by it.”

Earlier Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman had also urged all opposition parties to get united and after winning the recently held by-election he declared to give a tea party where all party leaders except BJP shall be invited to discuss it.