Former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has said the opposition Left Front will approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind to apprise them of the alleged atrocities on its members. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Governor Ramesh Bais, he said, have turned a deaf ear to their pleas.
During an interaction with the media at state capital Agartala this afternoon, Mr Sarkar -- leader of the opposition in the Tripura Assembly -- said the measure has become necessary as the state's BJP-led government failed to control the violence against opposition leaders across the state. Chief Minister Deb holds the Home portfolio.
Mr Sarkar further alleged that the government machinery and the police have turned into a "puppet of the ruling party" and diminished into spectators while laws have been repeatedly violated.
"The CPM State Secretariat body had met with Chief Minister Deb and Governor Ramesh Bais at Raj Bhavan and apprised them about the ongoing unlawful activities across Tripura. They had assured that from next day, no violence or attack will take place. The Governor had assured them that the matter will be discussed with Chief Minister and DGP," said Mr Sarkar, who is also a politburo member of the CPM.
Those requests, however, did not get any results, Mr Sarkar said.
"On March 3, the Chief Minister made a statement in the state Assembly. From that day and till date, 200 incidents of attacks on houses of opposition workers took place in Tripura. After CPM Secretariat body met with the Governor, more than 60 attacks took place," he said.
Citing statistics since the BJP-led government took charge, Mr Sarkar said, "In two years, from June 28, 2019 to June 25, 2021, nine incidents of mob-lynching and custodial deaths took place across the state. Five custodial deaths took place at Udaipur, West Agartala police station, Central Jail, Amarpur sub-jail and Kamalpur police station. All these have created a worrying situation".
During the Covid pandemic and the curfew imposed due to it, irrespective of political colour and identity, people have come forward to distribute sanitizers, masks and ration kits. But many have come under attacks by the BJP workers across the state while doing that, said Mr Sarkar.
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