POLITICAL VISIT

Left Front team visits tensed Tufanganj

 

TUFANGANJ (Cooch Behar), June 24: A team of elected representatives of the Forward Bloc and the CPI-M including ministers, MPs and MLAs visited tension-gripped villages in Tufanganj today. They will submit a detailed report of their findings to the state chief minister.

 

In the Left Front team there were state forests minister Mr Ananta Roy, food and supplies minister Mr Paresh Adhikary, Cooch Behar MP (Lok Sabha) Mr Hiten Barman, MP (Rajya Sabha) Mr Tarini Roy, Cooch Behar (North) MLA Mr Dipak Sarkar, Tufanganj MLA Ms Aloka Barman and Natabari MLA Mr Tamser Ali.

 

The members of the team visited Deocharai, Nakkatigachh, Natun Bazar, Baraitola, Taltola, Sikarpur, Rajarkuthi and other areas to learn about the alleged atrocities done by the Trinamul Congress and the Mahajot (grand alliance) of opposition parties. They also witnessed the damaged and ransacked offices of the CPI-M in those areas. The offices were attacked and damaged recently during post-poll disturbances.

 

At Deocharai, an aged woman, Ekmala Barman (70) complained to the visiting leaders that two local Trinamul Congress men threatened her of committing rape. With tears rolling down her cheeks she said it was an unbearable insult to her at this advanced age. Hearing her complaint Mr Ananta Roy asked the Tufanganj OC Mr Jahar Jyoti Roy to take legal action into the matter.

 

In Rajarkuthi, local CPI-M supporters requested the leaders to arrange security to protect them from attacks of the opposition parties. Here, the LF leaders saw a flag was flying on the top of the CITU office. Following their instruction the police removed it.

 

Mr Ananta Roy said they would never allow anyone to bring back the dark days of 1972. He alleged that the opposition parties are trying to disrupt the formation of gram panchayat boards. They even threatening of abduction to the elected gram panchayat members of the CPI-M, he alleged. He believes that today's visit may be able to boost the morale of the local CPI-M supporters. "We will submit a report to the chief minister about the happenings going on in Tufanganj", he said.

 

It is interesting that the team members abstained from visiting the residence of Debabrata Pramanik who was killed recently in the clash occurred between the supporters of the Trinamul Congress and the CPI-M. At that time both the parties had claimed him as their man and called bandhs.

 

Mentionworthy, in the recent rural polls the Trinamul Congress won in the two Panchayat Samitis and also grabbed several gram panchayat seats in Tufanganj sub-division. Soon after declaration of results a number of violent incidents occurred there between the supporters of the two parties. []