TMC youth leaders assaulted in Tripura; 'barbaric attack reveals Goonda Raj', says Abhishek

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth leaders Sudip Raha, Jaya Dutta and Debanshu Bhattacharya were injured after their vehicles were allegedly attacked with bricks and stones by miscreants owing allegiance to the BJP at Ambassa in Dhalai district of Tripura on Saturday.

The incident comes within days after TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was attacked in the north-eastern state.

The youth leaders were on their way to attend a party programme when the two vehicles in which they were travelling were stopped by blocking the road with trucks. Following this, bricks and stones were hurled indiscriminately. Sudip sustained head injuries and the vehicle was ransacked.

As the TMC youth leaders started protesting on the road, the police stood there as mute spectators and allegedly made no attempt to take Raha and Dutta to the hospital even after they suffered bleeding injuries.

Moreover, the cops said that two persons were attacked by a group of unidentified miscreants at Ambassa and their vehicle was partly damaged.

"The police administration in Tripura is working at the behest of the BJP. They told us to leave the spot and have said that they cannot offer us protection if we go to the hospital. This is Democracy in Tripura under the BJP. They have realised that they have lost their ground here and will be defeated in the next elections. The attack was pre-planned," Raha, who shared video clippings of the attack, said on social media.

Taking a swipe at the saffron camp and condemning the attack, Abhishek Banerjee tweeted: "The GOONS of @BJP4Tripura have shown their TRUE COLOURS! This barbaric attack on Trinamool workers reveals the 'GOONDA RAJ' in #Tripura under @BjpBiplab's Govt.! Your threats and attacks only prove your inhumanity. DO WHAT YOU CAN.. Trinamool will not budge an INCH!"

Trinamool youth leader Debanshu alleged that though the barbaric attack took place in presence of the police but they did not make any attempt to take steps against those involved in the attack. Though the party has already lodged an FIR in connection with the attack on the TMC national general secretary, no arrests have been made yet.

"Today @BJP4Tripura goons launched merciless attacks on Trinamool workers in Ambassa. Is this the price we have to pay for fighting for the rights of people? Bring it on, we will fight till our last breath! #TripuraDeservesBetter," tweeted Partha Chatterjee , secretary general of TMC.

Other party leaders, including Bratya Basu and Kunal Ghosh will be visiting Tripura on Sunday. The leadership will be holding a meeting there and have also sought an appointment with the Governor of Tripura. The youth leaders will also be staying back.

Basu, who is also the state Education minister, was critical of the role of the Biplab Deb-led BJP government for the brutal attack.

"The brutality with which @BjpBiplab has greeted Trinamool workers in the state, shows how frightened he is of any voice that dares to oppose his TYRANNY! But guess what, Mr. Deb? Our fight for the people of #Tripura will not stop. We will continue standing up for them!" Basu wrote on his Twitter handle.

Ghosh said the attack on "young boys and girls" shows that the BJP is scared of TMC.

Earlier, 23 members of poll strategist Prashant Kishor's I-PAC team — that went to the state on Trinamool's direction — were also detained by the BJP-led Tripura government.

However, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh claimed that there was no attack on TMC. "That day Abhishek (Banerjee)'s car had entered into a procession of BJP so they raised slogans against him. They have no ground in Tripura and so they are doing these things to hog the limelight," he stated.