Agartala: Tripura’s ruling BJP MLA Sudip Roy Barman has said that the people of Tripura are losing faith in the state police in a letter he addressed to state DGP (director general of police) V.S. Yadav.
The statement by the ruling party legislator comes in the wake of a series of alleged attacks on politicians across parties, including the BJP, that were reported from various parts of the state ahead of the urban local bodies’ election, which is scheduled for November 25.
In the letter dated November 12, Barman has urged the DGP to declare eight wards of the 6 Agartala assembly constituency as “most vulnerable and hypersensitive”.
Barman, in the letter, has alleged that fear psychosis has been induced among the electorate, who are under constant threat from various quarters.
“You are well aware of the fear psychosis that has been induced amongst the electors who are under constant threat from various quarters. It pains me to see that the people are fast losing faith and trust in the police. Miscreants and criminals are having a merry go round and taking law in their own hands where the police succumb under pressure,” Barman said.
Continuing further, he said, “Being a public representative, I do have immense confidence in you and your good office and believe that you will take all such necessary and bold steps to regain the lost confidence of the common people”.
Also read: Tripura: CPI(M) Says BJP Attacked Candidates for Urban Local Body Polls, Forced Withdrawal
Barman has claimed that a reign of terror has been unleashed with an evil design to refrain the electorate from exercising their franchise and to convert the election into a mere farce.
“You are also aware that a considerable number of electors hail from the minority Muslim community and thus, a spark neglected shall burn the house. To cite an instance is the glaring example of a candidate of Ward No. 13 who is openly threatening the electors of Minority Community not to turn up on the day of election lest they shall face with dire consequences,” he wrote in the letter.
The letter also comes amid widespread criticism that the state police is facing over the alleged indiscriminate use of UAPA against those who are raising voices against communal violence which took place in the Panisagar sub-division of Tripura’s North district.
Barman, in his letter, has said that he has received many complaints from a cross-section of the people in Bhati Abhoynagar, Bitterban, Mulla Para, Daspara, Hrishi Colony regarding “routine threats” that they have been receiving.
“Same is the scenario in other parts of my constituency. Therefore, request you to take all such necessary steps to ensure that the electors can exercise their franchise freely without any sort of hindrance,” MLA Barman urged the state police chief.
Earlier, in June 2019, Sudip Roy Barman, who was at that time Tripura’s health and family welfare minister, was dropped from the state cabinet.
Sources in the BJP said that Barman was dropped from the state cabinet because of his “anti-party activities”. He is also known to have had an uneasy relationship with chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb when he was in the state council of ministers.
Barman is a five-time MLA and was a former leader of the opposition in the state assembly.
Barman, who is the son of former Tripura chief minister Samir Ranjan Barman, had left Congress in 2016 and joined Trinamool Congress. A year later, he and five other Trinamool Congress MLAs joined the BJP.
Earlier this year, on August 29, Barman took part in a meeting convened by disgruntled BJP MLAs. The agenda of the meeting was to bring the attention of central party leadership to the ‘mistakes’ of the Tripura BJP unit and the functioning of the state government under the leadership of Biplab Deb. Along with Barman, the meeting was attended by MLAs Asish Kumar Saha, Dibachandra Hrangkhawl, Asish Das and Burbamohan Tripura.
Meanwhile, opposition parties in the state, CPI(M), Congress and Trinamool Congress, have held a series of protests and blamed the ruling BJP for allegedly attacking candidates contesting civic body polls and representing opposition parties.
CPI(M) state committee secretary Jitendra Chowdhury said that over 20 FIRs (first information reports) were registered in connection with attacks on opposition candidates, including those from the CPI (M).
