The political war between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tripura is heating up ahead of the Agartala municipal corporation elections on November 25. The TMC state unit has released a CCTV video where a person in a vehicle with a ‘Government of Tripura’ seal is seen removing Trinamool flags from roadside pillars in capital city Agartala’s ward number 24.
Posting the video on Twitter, the TMC asked the Election Commission to take note of the incident and also criticised chief minister Biplab Deb.
SHOCKING!Govt. of Tripura vehicles are now removing @AITCofficial flags across Tripura! @ECISVEEP, please note. Please tell us in what way is this justified?
Shame on @BjpBiplab. Such blatant disregard for the Hon’ble Supreme Court is utterly disgraceful! pic.twitter.com/OkFgQzYzx1
— AITC Tripura (@AITC4Tripura) November 17, 2021
When asked about it, BJP’s Tripura MLA Ratan Chakraborty told News18, “We are not aware of any such incident…I don’t know about any such video.”
The government of Tripura is yet to give an official statement on the matter. News18 could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The TMC, which is in power in West Bengal, is looking to wrest more political turf in other parts of India to establish itself as a credible national challenger to the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Trinamool has its eyes set on BJP-ruled Tripura, which will have assembly polls in 2023. The municipal elections are being seen as a semi-final to that. The state has seen tension and skirmishes in the run-up to the polls.
The Tripura TMC has said it will approach the Election Commission on the flag-removal issue and urge for action.
Speaking to News18, Tripura TMC leader Subal Bhowmik said, “They have been resorting to such tactics. If you take a look at Agartala city, they have taken down all the flags of opposition parties, not just the TMC. In my entire life, I have never seen such a political party. All they do is destroy the party flags and hoardings of opposition parties.”
The BJP is full of miscreants and goons, Bhowmik alleged. “They have stooped so low that now they are even using government vehicles to do such things. If they openly do such things, I don’t think they will be able to perform well in the upcoming municipal corporation elections. In fact, their own party members are tearing down BJP flags and blaming the opposition parties for it. We want free and fair elections.”
The TMC leader added that the party has written a letter to the Election Commission and apprised it about the situation.
Tweeting the same video, TMC Rajya Sabha member Sushmita Dev wrote, “Thank you Biplab Deb for giving solid evidence of your culpability. A government vehicle tearing our flag is your utter fear of losing to the TMC. Tripura police here is another video! Enforce the law and fulfil your duty. Tripura deserves better.”
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