Agartala: Post poll violence in Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (ADC) has widened rivalry between ruling CPI-M and newly emerged opposition BJP in the state.
The BJP Tripura State Committee has threatened to launch a movement against the CPI-M unless it stops lodging false complaints with police against them and carrying out violent attacks on its supporters. BJP State president Sudhindra Dasgupta urged the police “not to get involved in CPI-M’s politics” or else it will move the Ministry of Home Affairs against the state police officers for their political acts.
He, however, alleged that the CPI-M had beaten up their workers, including ADC candidates, in several places in the past 48 hours after announcement of the election result on May 6. Party cadres of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar’s constituency Dhanpur had lodged false complaint against innocent BJP workers.
Without verifying the facts and only following pressure from the CPI-M, the police arrested three leaders of BJP based on false complains. Our people were physically assaulted and property damaged by CPI-M cadres. Police is also harassing the victims just to make the ruling party happy, Dasgupta said.
According to reports, post poll violence has left as many as 15 people injured and ransacked a few houses in different locations. The injured included three from ruling CPI-M, two from Congress, seven of BJP and three from tribal based Indigenous Peoples’ Front of Tripura (IPFT).
While CPI-M blamed the BJP for perpetrating violence, all the oppositions unitedly accused its cadres of attacking them. Police said six cases of post poll violence in Simna, Mandwai, Sonamura of West Tripura, Shantirbazar of South Tripura and Kanchanpur of North Tripura were reported. CPI-M secretary Bijan Dhar alleged that BJP supporters attacked their workers in Sonamura after losing the election. BJP workers led by defeated candidate in Kathalia-Mirza ADC constituency Padmalochan Tripura had assaulted three of CPI-M leaders in Taibandal area on Wednesday night when they were returning home.
Three of leaders, including ADC Village Committee member Sambajoy Tripura, are injured seriously and undergoing treatment in Agartala Govt Medical College, Dhar stated. The BJP chief denied the allegation and stated that CPI-M lavelled false allegation against Padmalochan and BJP party. Rather, in Sonamura and Teliamura seven BJP men were assaulted and several houses and shops are gutted by CPI-M cadres.
IPFT president N C Debbarma alleged that the CPI-M had resorted to violence soon after the announcement of the election result in Simna, Mandwai and Shantirbazar. Three of their workers sustained injuries and their houses were destroyed. The atrocities on IPFT workers by CPI-M were also reported in other parts of the state, Debbarma alleged. Congress president Birajit Sinha alleged that Congress supporters had been assaulted in several places of North and West Tripura by the CPI-M cadres.
As many as two persons were shifted to hospital. Another tribal based opposition Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) chief B K Hrangkhwal alleged that the CPI-M had attacked their supporters in Gandacherra and Kanchanpur.
Many families had taken shelter in safe places in town areas following CPI-M atrocities. The CPI-M cadres are indulging tension in ethnic line in mixed populated areas, Mr Hrangkhwal said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, while congratulating party workers for securing clean sweep in ADC polls, urged them to maintain peace and not fall prey to any propagation. He also asked them to remain with the common people and not to feel overconfident in success.
The CPI-M led Left Front swept the ADC polls for third consecutive term by re-capturing all 28 seats. CPI-M secured 54 per cent of the total votes followed by IPFT with 18 per cent votes, BJP 9 per and Congress 5.5 per cent of votes. (UNI)
