"Will Quit Politics If...": Trinamool MP Takes On Tripura Chief Minister

Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Tripura ahead of the civic polls, Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday said he will quit politics if fails to defeat Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and his "tactics of intimidation".

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Banerjee said, "BJP has let loose a reign of terror from yesterday as they have already sensed that their days are numbered in government. I will quit politics if I fail to defeat Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and his tactics of intimidation."

The Trinamool MP said democracy is under attack in Tripura. "If voters can exercise their franchise freely, which is quite unlikely given the prevailing situation, BJP will fail to open its account in next Assembly polls," Mr Banerjee said.

The Trinamool MP urged the people not to get scared of BJP 'hooligans' and make them fool by pretending to be a BJP supporter in order to reach polling booths safely.

"If you are scared to reach to polling booths then I suggest to carry a BJP's lotus flag and chant 'BJP Zindabad' but reaching inside the booth press the button of 'Jodaphool' (Trinamool symbol). They have made you a fool for a long now it is your time to make BJP fool," he said.

Urging people to vote for Trinamool in the upcoming municipal elections, Mr Banerjee said, "TMC will work towards the development of Agartala. BJP government has pushed the state 50 years back. Chief Minister Biplab Deb said he does not regard the court and laws. The people are not safe and even the police are not safe. This is Tripura's double engine government model. Now people need to decide whether they want 'Duare sarkar (government at your doorstep) model or the 'Duare Gunda (hooligans at your doorstep) model."

Mr Banerjee said that there is no law and order and alleged Trinamool workers are under attack by the "hooligans" of the BJP government.

"There is total anarchy in Tripura. Journalists, police, and lawyers are being attacked. There is no law and order. TMC workers are under attack by the hooligans of the BJP government. They are doing atrocities to women and people. We are fighting for the people of Tripura. We will not leave a single-inch ground in Tripura," the Trinamool MP added.

BJP and Trinamool are at loggerheads in Tripura where the latter is attempting to set its foothold challenging the ruling government.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs on Monday reached the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to meet him and discuss the alleged police brutality in Tripura.

Earlier today, a total of 16 Trinamool MPs including Derek O'Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Santanu Sen and Mala Roy arrived at the party office in Delhi and held a protest outside the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) over the Tripura police incident.

Tensions in Tripura increased after violent incidents in the run-up to the elections to the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) and 12 other municipal bodies slated for November 25.

Trinamool earlier alleged that several people sustained injuries after an attack on the residence of Trinamool Congress Tripura unit's Steering Committee chief Subal Bhowmik in Bhagaban Thakur Chowmuni area of Agartala on Sunday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)