Congress, Left team on post-poll violence attacked in Tripura
No one was, however, injured, the police said.
A joint team of legislators from the Congress and the Left were attacked in Tripura’s Sepahijala on Friday after they reached the district to investigate post-poll violence, reported PTI.
However, none of the eight members in the team sustained any injuries in the attack, said Assistant Inspector General (law and order) Jyotishman Das Chowdhury.
“A delegation of MPs, MLAs and local leaders of the Left parties and the Congress made an unscheduled visit to Nehalchandranagar in Bishalgarh today,” Chowdhury said. “During their visit, sloganeering was done and their vehicles were attacked by some miscreants. The police escort team responded quickly and rescued members of the delegation safely.”
A delegation of Congress leaders was attacked by BJP goons today in Bishalgarh & Mohanpur in Tripura. Police accompanying the delegation did NOTHING. And tomorrow BJP is having a victory rally there. Victory of party-sponsored violence. pic.twitter.com/gZfBm4qEWB
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 10, 2023
Violence had broken out in the district after the Assembly election results were announced on March 2. At least 20 shops were set on fire in Nehalchandranagar, a border village of Bishalgarh subdivision, on Wednesday night.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally, the Indigenous Peoples’ Front of Tripura, had returned to power in the state for the second consecutive term, winning 33 seats in the 60-member Assembly. The BJP alone had bagged 32 seats.
On Saturday, the police said they have detained person in connection with the attack on the legislators.
“Raids are on to identify and arrest other miscreants,” Chowdhury added. “Senior police officers are there at the spot.”
Following the attack, the Congress accused the BJP of state-sponsored terrorism and alleged that the police did nothing to prevent the incident.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) Rakhal Majumder said that the assailants were shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai slogan as they attacked the team. One vehicle was severely damaged, while two more cars were also vandalised, Majumder said.
“Our members were saved as they shifted promptly from there”, he said, adding that Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president Birajit Sinha and CPI(M) state Secretary Jitendra Chowdhury were part of the fact-finding delegation.
The team is expected to stay in the state till March 12 after which it will submit a report and the issue will be raised in the next Parliament session beginning on March 13, CPI MP Binoy Viswam has said.
