Agartala, Tripura: Chief Executive Member-designate for the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) Kirit Pradyot Deb Barman on Sunday cancelled his party's proposed victory rally which was scheduled for Monday.
Pradyot, through his social media handles, gave a clarion call to his supporters to call off the victory rally as he wanted to "maintain peace in the state and prevent a post-poll violence unleashed by some miscreants in the name of The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) Motha party".
Also read: TIPRA sweeps Tripura Tribal Council elections
Any breach of command coming from the chairman (Pradyot) might result in police cases or suspension from the party.
"A number of times I have appealed to the people to maintain peace. I don’t want politics of violence. This will only break us. In Kowhai, Mandwai and some other pockets, people are indulging in violence using TIPRA Motha's name. I am appealing to everyone to refrain from any kind of violence. No one from other political parties like the IPFT or the BJP or any other community such as Bengalis, Hindustanis and Muslims should be attacked. If I learn that someone from my party has done it, he will be suspended straight away and I will personally report him to the police," Pradyot said in a video message.
Regarding the cancellation of the victory rally, he said there was no need for one and the culture had to end. "There is no point in organising a rally to humiliate the opponents on their loss," he said.
"TIPRA wants clean politics. I have been told that in some areas, some people are collecting donations in the name of TIPRA to organise a victory rally. This is unacceptable. There is no need to spend money for humiliating the opponents, instead, let's help the needy. There are many who want their house to be repaired, who sleep half-fed, who genuinely need treatment. We must stand by them. At the same time, the Covid situation is also spiralling out of control, and in Tripura, we must prepare ourselves for the second wave. The unspent money can be used for a genuine purpose," he said.
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Pradyot also said he would organise a victory rally only on the day the demand for 'Greater Tipraland' gets fulfilled.
Meanwhile, according to sources, over-enthusiastic supporters of the newly floated TIPRA triggered tensions in several parts of TTAADC. The district magistrates of four districts, where the violence was intense, promulgated CrPC Section 144 in select stretches. A delegation of the Tripura BJP met the Director General of Police, Tripura, seeking stern action against the violators.
A party office of the ruling BJP was reduced to shambles with its furniture and important documents ransacked by miscreants at Chelikhala area. BJP MP Pratima Bhowmik and state BJP president Manik Saha rushed to the spot and talked to the local leaders.
Houses, shops and some commercial vehicles were set ablaze in some areas.
