Congress demands probe into Tripura violence

AGARTALA: The three-member Congress delegation which visited Tripura on Monday has demanded an independent inquiry into the political violence that erupted before and after the June 23 bye-elections. The delegation of MPs, led by its Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, visited the hospital where the injured Congress workers, including State party president Birajit Sinha, are now being treated. They later met Chief Minister Manik Saha.

Demanding an impartial probe into the violence, Chowdhury told the media that the Chief Minister patiently heard their views and confessed that everything was not under his control. "The Chief Minister assured us to maintain law and order," the Congress leader said, and informed that they requested Saha to punish the attackers and provide compensation to the injured Congress men and women.

"Congress president Sonia Gandhi and central party leaders have put full focus on Tripura to win next year's Assembly elections. Congress leaders and workers will not be cowed down by the attacks and violence unleashed by the ruling BJP. We have told the Chief Minister that Tripura's image is being tarnished by political violence," another delegation member Gaurav Gogoi said.

Parliament Member Naseer Hussain was also part of the delegation. AICC in-charge for Tripura Ajoy Kumar and State Congress leaders accompanied the visiting team.

Sudip Roy Barman, who was elected in the June 23 bye-election from the Agartala Assembly seat, claimed that Tripura Congress president Birajit Sinha and 14 other Congress workers were injured following the attack by the BJP workers on Sunday.

Roy Barman, who was elected from the Agartala constituency six times in a row, said that BJP goons had attacked the Congress Bhavan with lathis, injuring Sinha and other party workers, while a Congress worker was stabbed by a BJP activist and he along with the State party chief was admitted in a hospital. At least 10 motorbikes and a few cars parked in front of the Congress Bhavan were damaged by BJP workers, Roy Barman alleged.

He said that bye-elections were not held in Khowai, Teliamura, Bishalgarh, Kalyanpur, Belonia and several other places across Tripura, but the BJP workers attacked the houses, properties and shops belonging to Congress workers in those areas. (IANS)

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