Agartala, Nov 22 (IANS) The main opposition CPI-M, on Saturday, condemned what it termed as “baseless, irrelevant and anti-Communist remarks” made by Chief Minister Manik Saha against the Left party.

The CPI-M said that Chief Minister Saha made baseless allegations against the Left party during his visit to the violence-hit Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) headquarters in Khumulwng, where clashes involving workers of the BJP and its ally, the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), have continued.

In a statement, the Left party alleged that instead of condemning violence in Khumulwng, the Chief Minister “indulged in false propaganda targeting the Communists and the CPI-M in an attempt to shield the misdeeds of the BJP and TMP activists”.

Chief Minister Saha’s comments, including his references to the CPI-M’s governance culture in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura, exposed his “hatred toward Communists”, the Left party said in a statement.

It claimed that the Chief Minister has resorted to “blatant lies to divert public attention from the atrocities committed by the ruling alliance”.

The Left party also alleged that CM Saha, being both the Chief Minister and Home Minister, has failed to maintain law and order and to stop the “bloody clashes” between BJP and TMP workers.

“To cover up this failure, he has taken refuge in laughable and malicious falsehoods,” the statement said.

According to the CPI-M, clashes between workers and supporters of the two ruling alliance partners, reportedly over the distribution of corruption money, have escalated across Jirania, Khumulwng, Jampuijala, and Takarjala over the past few days.

The CPI-M claimed that party offices of both BJP and TMP were set ablaze, houses vandalised, people thrashed, and properties looted and set on fire, while the two police stations in the region “remained completely inactive”, resulting in widespread fear and insecurity among residents of the state.

The CPI-M also said that even a Minister in the BJP government has publicly blamed the Chief Minister for the situation, and that “the existence of both the state administration and the TTAADC administration is nowhere to be seen”.

The main opposition party demanded that the Chief Minister take responsibility for the “law and order breakdown caused by clashes between BJP and TMP workers” and condemn the violence.

It urged him to restore peace and normalcy instead of “encouraging miscreants with false and provocative comments targeting the CPI-M”.

The CPI-M, which was in power in Tripura for 35 years in two phases (1978-1988 and 1993 to 2018), urged the people of Tripura to “raise their voices against the Chief Minister’s malicious remarks and the government’s failure to ensure safety and security”.

Meanwhile, Tripura Chief Minister Saha claimed on Friday that many people in the state still retain a “Communist mentality”, alleging that acts of violence, including arson and terrorism, were imported from the CPI-M.

“A woman was brutally tortured on Thursday (November 20), and her household belongings were looted. Jewellery and money were snatched. Everything, including the refrigerator, was destroyed,” he had told the media after visiting TTAADC headquarters in Khumulwng.

CM Saha had said, “Even before this incident, a party office was demolished and set on fire. This cannot be accepted under any circumstances. Therefore, whatever action needs to be taken in the coming days will be taken.”

The Chief Minister also noted that recent dialogues had helped reduce differences between the BJP and the TMP leadership, but he emphasised that incidents of violence were “undesirable and unacceptable”.

CM Saha, in the recent weeks, held two back-to-back closed-door meetings with TMP Supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma and discussed various affairs, including the series of tussles and clashes between the BJP and the tribal-based party (TMP).

During the visit, the Chief Minister was accompanied by the BJP’s state General Secretary Bipin Debbarma, local mandal presidents, and other leaders.

Escalating conflicts within Tripura’s ruling alliance, TMP leader and Forest Minister Animesh Debbarma on Friday demanded that the Home Department, currently held by the Chief Minister, be handed over to his party.

Debbarma alleged that the Home Department under Chief Minister Saha has failed, resulting in unchecked political violence across the state.

The Minister’s statement comes amid a surge of clashes over the last few days in which multiple offices of both BJP and TMP have been attacked, vandalised, or burnt, and supporters from both sides were injured in separate incidents.

Speaking after inspecting two TMP offices gutted by fire at Khumulwng, Debbarma blamed the police for allowing the violence to escalate.

He claimed that the identities of miscreants involved in attacks were known and had been officially submitted, yet no arrests or action have followed.

“Police in Tripura have become totally inactive. The miscreants are being shielded while our party is being blamed,” the TMP leader alleged.

The Minister asserted that if the Home Department portfolio was given to TMP, law and order would “totally change”.

Debbarma accused the current system of politically-biased policing and warned that the situation would not be tolerated further.

He also hinted at potential political consequences, declaring that Tipra Motha Party will soon take a “final stand” regarding its alliance with the BJP after consulting party supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma.

–IANS

sc/khz