ON October 16, the people of Tripura took to the streets roaring against the heinous attempts of some BJP miscreants to raid the chief minister’s residence in Agartala on the previous day. The pretext it manufactured was the so-called attack on its state president Biplab Deb. This incident was tutored by him to garner political mileage in the state.

Unable to tolerate the peaceful way in which the Sharad festival of the Hindus and the Muharram by Muslim communities was observed simultaneously throughout the state without any untoward incident, the BJP leaders were conspiring to incite attacks on the Left Front government.

Their first attempt towards this happened on October 14, 2016. Biplab Deb intruded his car into the procession that carried the Durga idol for immersion. Peace loving and sensible people intervened and stopped the situation from escalating. The next day a similar procession for immersing another Durga idol organised by the New Boys Club  was passing by a road adjacent to the house of Biplab Deb. The vehicle carrying the idol slightly dashed the car of BJP president that was parked by the roadside. This enraged the personal security of Biplab Deb and he seriously assaulted the truck driver, on the spot. The incident led to a hot altercation between him and the organisers. At one moment, Biplab Deb’s security man opened fire. Biplab Deb himself was witnessing all this from the balcony of his house. This time also, the peace-loving people of the locality came forward to pacify the situation. However, one woman leader on behalf of the BJP lodged a complaint at the police station against some organisers and the police arrested three people by dawn. 

But the BJP president chose to give a political coating to this most apolitical incident. Next morning, he spread out a rumour throughout the state that his car was damaged and he was threatened by the CPI(M) workers. He instructed all BJP units to hold protest demonstrations against it. In Agartala town, they sought permission to meet the West Agartala Police Station authorities and that was granted. But instead of proceeding to the police station, several hundred BJP miscreants rushed to the chief minister’s official residence from three directions with sticks and other arms. The security persons posted in the chief minister’s residence were not prepared to combat such hooliganism of the BJP. The BJP miscreants broke off two security cordons and reached the main gate of the chief minister’s residence. They scuffled with the police. Five security personnel including the SI of West Agartala PS and a woman constable were injured in the clash. BJP miscreants were pushed back after reinforcement of the security persons arrived.  A complaint has been lodged against the BJP mischief maker before the police. 

On October 15th night, the New Boys Club president in a press meet, had condemned the BJP’s attempt to hype-up a minor incident for political gain and raid the chief minister’s residence. CPI(M) Tripura state secretariat, while sharply condemning the unprovoked vandalism of the miscreants led by state BJP, which is at the helm of power at the centre, has called upon all its units and the peace-loving people to rise in protest against the BJP’s attack on the chief minister’s residence.

Next day, hundreds of protest demonstrations were organised by the CPI(M) in local areas of the state. Thousands of people, men and women, thundered against BJP’s heinous drive to destabilise the state by politicising a minor issue that had no relation with politics. The CPI(M) leaders addressing the protesting people said, in Tripura BJP has reasons to be aggrieved. Here religious rights of people are best secured. Here there is no forcible conversion. Here there is no ban on eating beef, neither there are Goraksha Samitis. Fraternity and harmonious relations between the Hindus, Muslims, tribals and dalits in the state of Tripura is a model before the country. So-called Hindutva pursued by the RSS/BJP is not marketable in the state. Thus they have resorted to this stooping down. The people of Tripura should always keep their eyes open against every evil design of the BJP to break the peaceful atmosphere and fraternal relations of the people and to carry forward the ongoing development projects in the state, they warned.