CPI(M) & Trinamool 'disconnected from people, confined to social media posts’: Tripura CM

In a sharp political attack on the Opposition, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, on Friday, lambasted the CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress (TMC), accusing them of being "disconnected from the people" and "living in a delusion of victory from the comfort of their homes by posting on social media".

The Chief Minister, while speaking to the media, said that both the CPI(M) and the TMC have no connection with society anymore.

"Sitting in their homes, they (CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress) are only active on social media and imagining that they have won Tripura," he remarked.

Saha's comments came a day after a six-member TMC delegation from West Bengal visited Agartala and they had filed an FIR with the police, following the alleged vandalism of their (TMC) state party headquarters here, reportedly by BJP supporters.

Taking a swipe at the visiting TMC team, the Chief Minister said, "Recently, a few TMC leaders came here from Kolkata along with a tribal woman leader, hoping that if something happens to her, they could use it to counter the attack on our (BJP) Lok Sabha member Khagen Murmu. This clearly exposes their mentality."

Dr Saha asserted that the Tripura government handled the situation with maturity and precision, leaving the TMC's "political theatrics" in vain.

"Their attempts failed miserably. They came here only to provoke and TMC will again show up during the next election, but BJP knows how to handle them," he said.

Claiming that the TMC leaders had come here to create trouble, CM Dr Saha, however, admitted that a chaos occurred in front of Trinamool Congress headquarters here which generally remains empty as the party has reduced to a signboard.

"It was a sudden outbreak of anger after the deadly attack on our MP and MLA in North Bengal. No planned attack was carried out on the Trinamool party office. Police took prompt action and dispersed the protesters," he said.

Chief Minister Dr Saha predicted that the TMC will not be able to remain in power in West Bengal for long.

With his remarks, the Chief Minister sent a strong message to the Opposition, accusing them of thriving on publicity rather than public service and reaffirming that the BJP's strength lies among the people, not on social media screens.

The visiting TMC delegation submitted a memorandum to Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu, protesting the alleged attack on the party's state headquarters in Agartala on October 7.

The TMC delegation, comprising West Bengal Minister Birbaha Hansda, three MPs -- Sushmita Dev, Pratima Mondal and Saayoni Ghosh, and two-party spokespersons Kunal Ghosh and Sudip Raha, also met Tripura DGP Anurag on October 8 and demanded security for party members in the state.

Kunal Ghosh, who is also the West Bengal Trinamool Congress General Secretary, alleged that BJP karyakartas vandalised and ransacked our party state headquarters in Agartala on October 7 while the state police stood by as mute spectators.

The TMC leaders also alleged that upon their arrival at Agartala airport from Kolkata, they were not allowed to use their hired cars to visit the city or the party office.

After three hours of heated discussions with the police and a sit-in demonstration at the airport, the police finally provided vehicles and security escorts for them to visit the city and the party headquarters, Ghosh had said.