KOLKATA/AGARTALA: Trinamool Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev was attacked and her vehicle vandalised by unidentified miscreants on Friday afternoon when she embarked on a 12-day outreach programme at Amtali in Tripura.
Dev, in an FIR lodged at Amtali police station, blamed BJP workers for the attack and accused the party of not even sparing women Trinamool workers. Along with Dev, two party workers were treated at the ILS hospital in Agartala. Reports later came in that party leader Maman Khan too was injured and hospitalised.
BJP blamed it on Trinamool’s internal feud.
The incident coincided with municipal polls being declared in Tripura for November 25; Trinamool is likely to contest the polls.
The 12-day outreach programme, “Tripurar Jonno Trinamool (Trinamool for Tripura)”, will see party workers try to reach out to all 8 districts, 58 blocks and 20 urban local body areas.
According to the FIR, the miscreants attacked Dev and 10 others at Amtali Bazar at 1.30pm. “They vandalised vehicles, physically assaulted TMC workers, outraged the modesty of female party workers, and also stole their personal belongings,” Dev said in the FIR. She told reporters that her bag and phone were smashed to the ground.
The attack led to strong reactions from Trinamool. Party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee dubbed it “political terrorism” by the Biplab Deb government. “Under Biplab Deb, Duare Gunda Raj (goons on your doorstep), attacks on political opponents are setting new records! Physically manhandling a sitting female Rajya Sabha MP, Sushmita Dev, is beyond shameful and political terrorism by Tripura BJP! The time is near. People of Tripura will answer!” he tweeted.
According to Dev, the Trinamool team travelling in two vehicles had stopped at Amtali Bazar to talk to people when around 25 miscreants attacked them. “It’s clear that BJP is ‘Bharatiya Gunda Party’. CM Biplab Deb is giving them protection; the attackers didn’t even bother to cover their faces,” she said.
West Tripura superintendent of police Manik Lal Das said some unidentified miscreants had damaged Dev’s car when she was conducting a public relations campaign and a police force was rushed to the spot. “TMC did not give any prior intimation before launching their political programme, so police were not present there. Some miscreants have slightly damaged the car, but police did not find any visible injury. An investigation is on,” Das said.
No arrests have been made so far.
Rejecting the accusations, BJP spokesman Nabendu Bhattacharjee said: “The incident is part of their internal feud. Trinamool members who could not make it to the recently constituted Tripura steering committee are behind it.”
Dev quit Congress and joined Trinamool on August 16. She has been leading the Trinamool battle in Tripura.
