CPI(M) Polit Bureau appeals for end to violence in Tripura
The Polit Bureau of Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has condemned the violence “unleashed in Tripura by the ruling party, the BJP, against CPI(M) and the Left Front”.
Trouble started in Tripura on Monday, when former Chief Minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar’s convoy was stopped by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadres, near Dhanpur market, while it was heading to Kathalia for a party programme. Two CPI(M) legislators Shahid Chowdhury and Shyamal Chakraborty were part of the convoy.
Following the attack, the police asked Sarkar to return, without going to Kathalia. However, Sarkar decided to walk to Kathalia and as he did that, his party activists formed a shield around him, yet they were attacked by BJP supporters, injuring members of the both the political parties.
Soon after the violence, Sarker, addressing the party meeting, called upon the party members to protest against the violence.
In a statement issued last evening, the Polit Bureau stated that the offices of the CPI(M), including the party headquarters in the state, were attacked by “mobs of BJP men” in a planned manner. The statement said that among the offices which were damaged or burnt down are the Udaipur sub-divisional office, Gomati district committee office, Sepahijala district committee office, Bishalgarh sub-divisional committee office, West Tripura district committee office and the Sadar sub-divisional committee office.
“The most brazen attack was on the state committee office in Agartala. They have ransacked the ground and first floors of the office, burnt two office cars and broken the bust of Dasarath Deb, a revered leader of the people of Tripura.
‘Even the media was not spared with attacks on the offices of an electronic media channel `PN-24 News’ and a newspaper `Pratibadi Kalam’. The office of the newspaper `Daily Desharkatha’, which is supported by the CPI(M), was also damaged,” the statement said.
The Polit Bureau claimed that the police present at the time of the attack, remained silent bystanders and that the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, who were posted outside the state committee office, were withdrawn an hour before the attack.
The Polit Bureau added that the impunity with which the BJP gangs operated shows the connivance of the state government and “these attacks took place because the ruling party has tried and failed to suppress the activities of the main Opposition in the state.”
According to the Polit Bureau, the “outrageous attack on democracy and the Opposition must be condemned by all democratic-minded people and parties.”