CPI (M) accuses BJP-RSS of violence in Tripura; attacks are anti-democratic, says Sitaram Yechury

KOLKATA: The CPI-M on Tuesday accused the BJP and its allies of large-scale post-poll violence and vandalism against its party workers across Tripura and announced protests all across the country.

Terming the attacks by the BJP-RSS and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) anti-democratic and fascist, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said his party will take up the challenge.

"So far there have been individual torture of 514 of our workers. A total of 1,539 houses have been attacked, 196 houses of our praty comrades and leaders have been set on fire, 134 party offices have been attacked with 64 completely destroyed. In addition, 204 party offices have been occupied by the RSS and BJP," Yechury told reporters here.

"The CPI-M has decided to organise protest action all across the country. Since the CPI-M state conference is going on in Bengal, all the party leaders and delegates would march from the conference venue to the Lenin statute in Esplanade area. We will take on this fight. This is the challenge they are posing to us, we will take it head on," he announced.

Yechury condemned the dismantling of a Lenin statue in Tripura's Belonia area on Monday and criticized the statements by Governor Tathagata Roy, who condoned the act of hooligans.

"Their anti-Communist nature has come into the fore as they have brought down a statue of Lenin and they are extremely gleeful about the action," he said.

"The Governor has expressed his happiness on Twitter about the incident. This is the partisan manner in which they have captured all the constitutional positions in the country and this poses a graver danger to the whole country," he said.

Yechury said the saffron brigade had never expanded its mass base or social network without resorting to political violence and pointed out that every single judicial inquiry following communal riots in the country had directly held the RSS responsible for communal polarization.

He also accused the BJP of aligning with separatist elements like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) in Tripura for electoral benefits.

"In reality, for their political gains, they are actually aligning with such elements which seek separation from India. There cannot be a more crass form of opportunism," he added.