'Game on in Tripura', BJP suffering from insecurity: TMC

Kolkata: Bratya Basu, the state Education minister said the autocratic way in which the Tripura government was being run reminded one of the rules of Mussolini and the BJP was suffering from insecurity and fear of losing power in the next Assembly elections in the state. His comments came within three days after the Tripura government detained members of poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), citing Covid restrictions. A three-member Trinamool Congress (TMC) team reached Tripura to take stock of the situation there.

Basu along with state PWD minister Malay Ghatak and state INTTUC president Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay went to Tripura after 23 members of Kishor's I-PAC team were put under 'house arrest' by the Tripura government.

Abhishek Banerjee, TMC all-India general secretary, is likely to visit Tripura on Thursday. Earlier, he had tweeted that the action of the Tripura government had shown that BJP was losing ground in the state.

Meanwhile, the police have registered a case under the Disaster Management Act against I-PAC members. They have been asked to see senior police officials on August 1.

Reacting sharply to the incident, Basu asked why summons had been sent against I-PAC, which is not even a political party. Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay said in a democratic country curbs cannot be imposed on persons doing a survey. "The way we showed our negative RT-PCR report, they also did the same. Then why had they been detained," he asked.

He said the team had gone following the instructions of Abishek because the voice of the Opposition had been choked in Tripura. The TMC leaders, who are on a three-day visit to Tripura, are likely to meet the dissidents of the ruling BJP and Congress.

Basu said all the members of I-PAC tested Covid negative on Wednesday. "So why had they not been set free," he questioned.

The team will talk to the I-PAC members and interact with common people too. Basu hoped that the people of Tripura will not commit the same mistake of supporting the BJP in the 2023 Assembly elections.

He also hoped that the Left Front leaders in Tripura will not commit the same mistake as their counterparts in Bengal. "Instead of opposing Mamata Banerjee, they should stand beside her to oust BJP," he remarked.

Malay Ghatak said what had happened in Tripura did not take place anywhere else in the country. The movement to oust the BJP has begun in the state. "The BJP is losing ground and Mamata Banerjee is coming up as a viable alternative," he observed and added: "There is no democracy in Tripura and the people wanted a change of guard."

Ashis Lal Singha, the Trinamool state president, said the credibility of the party had gone up after the landslide victory over the BJP in the Assembly elections in Bengal. "The presence of leaders and Abhishek Banerjee will boost the morale of the party workers," said Singha.

"The game is on. If they cannot face 23 members of I-PAC, how will they face us in the 2023 general Assembly elections?" added Singha.