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Journalism of Courage
Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi on Friday said that the party would raise the recent violence in Tripura’s Gandatwisa in Parliament in the upcoming Budget session.
“The Congress never bows down to the violence by the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India is the mother of democracy but murder of democracy is going on here. We shall raise about violence in Tripura, threat to democracy, seeking justice for all community and others in Parliament,” Gogoi told reporters at Congress Bhawan in Agartala.
Several houses were attacked, properties damaged and incidents of arson were reported in several hamlets in Dhalai district on July 12 that broke out ahead of the upcoming local body elections scheduled on August 8.
Gogoi demanded justice for those whose shops, houses, and properties were damaged in the tension flared and asserted that his party would not let Tripura be converted into another Manipur.
The state government has announced a Rs 106 crore compensation package for over 165 families affected by the violence.
As per official estimates, around 40 houses and 30 shops were damaged, while a few vehicles, including two government vehicles were burnt since the tension broke out in July 12.
After arriving in Tripura on Thursday, a Lok Sabha Parliamentary delegation comprising Tariq Anwar and Gaurav Gogoi met Governor Indrasena Reddy Nallu urging him to intervene in the purported “constitutional breakdown” in the face of alleged pre-panchayat poll violence.
The delegation also visited a few areas around Agartala city where purported incidents of political tension had erupted.
Tariq Anwar said, “There is no law and order in the state. We sought intervention of the Governor about the violence due to which our candidates could not file nominations. He assured us to look into the issue”.
Former Tripura minister and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Sudip Roy Barman who was also part of the team said that 3,383 Congress candidates could not file nominations for the gram panchayat polls due to the violence.
“I was attacked for the eighth time by BJP. I filed case with the names at police stations. Still no one has been arrested,” Barman said.
The Parliamentary team’s visit comes shortly after the High Court of Tripura on Friday directed the State Election Commission to conduct the three-tier rural body elections freely and fairly.
A division bench of the High Court turned down the pleas for accepting online nominations or extending timeframe for nomination submission, but instead asked the Election Commission to hold the panchayat elections in a free, fair and transparent manner. The order came over separate petitions filed by the opposition CPI(M) and Congress parties over purported violence centering around nomination submission for the panchayat election process.
As per the schedule, elections are being held in 6,370 seats in 606 gram panchayats of the state, 423 seats in 35 panchayat samithi and 116 seats in eight zilla parishad bodies. The counting of votes will be held on August 12.
State Election Commissioner (SEC) Saradindu Chaudhuri had set the deadline to submit nomination papers on July 18.
