TMC moves contempt plea in SC against Tripura officials

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress on Thursday moved a contempt of court plea in the Supreme Court against Tripura’s home secretary, DGP and police superintendents for failing to provide security to party workers campaigning for the Agartala Municipal Corporation elections, scheduled for November 25.
The apex court had on November 11 asked the Tripura government to ensure Trinamool was not prevented from contesting in and campaigning for the polls.The party says despite the SC order, its workers are being attacked and complaints to police are hitting a wall.
Trinamool and its Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev, who had filed the original plea in the Supreme Court leading to the November 11 directions, have cited specific instances of attacks on party workers — including two candidates for the AMC polls — where police complaints have not led to action.
On Thursday, Trinamool alleged its AMC ward 15 candidate Bikash Sarkar had been attacked and hospitalised. In the evening, party leaders, including Dev, led a candlelight march in Agartala to protest the repeated attacks.
The petition says the SC had in its order said “it is the bounden obligation” of the Tripura government to ensure that “no political party which is in the fray is prevented from pursuing its electoral rights in accordance with law and from campaigning in a peaceful and orderly manner”. The SC had asked the state home secretary, DGP and police to “enforce and comply with the order”.
The petition further says after the SC order, a BJP MLA had in a public meeting on November 14 made a “no mercy to Trinamool” comment that led to a spate of attacks on its workers. The party said it had on November 15 filed a complaint against the MLA at West Agartala police station.
The petition also says that on November 15 itself, Trinamool’s AMC ward 10 candidate Panna Deb was attacked. She lodged a police complaint. Deb, the petition says, appealed for personal security during campaigning but police haven’t responded to it or even her complaint.
On November 17, another candidate, Jahanara Begum, came under attack during campaigning. A complaint was lodged. The same day, the petition says, party worker Arindam Sarkar was attacked while campaigning in Teliamura during permitted campaign hours. Instead of registering his complaint and providing medical help, police detained Sarkar at the police station, the petition alleges.