AGARTALA: Former chief minister Manik Sarkar hit out at the BJP-led Tripura government on Sunday, alleging that it has failed to maintain law and order in the state.
Addressing a press conference, the leader of opposition in the state assembly alleged that the police were turning a blind eye to incidents of violence and were reduced to "puppets" with strings in the hands of "BJP-sheltered goons".
"Incidents of lynching and deaths in police and judicial custody are occurring in different places across the state. CPI(M) offices are often vandalized and party activists are attacked by the BJP-sheltered goons. The law and order has completely collapsed in the state," Sarkar claimed. The senior CPI(M) leader said that the party has raised the matter with the chief minister, director-general of police and the governor but no action was taken to stop the violence.
"It is complete lawlessness here," he alleged.
As many as 200 incidents of attack happened after the chief minister's assurance in the third week of March, Sarkar said, adding that 70-75 attacks happened after the governor's assurance on May 12.
"It is the government's responsibility to take action against the persons involved in such incidents.
Besides, the state government needs to raise public awareness so that nobody takes the law into their hands but it is silent," he said.
"If the rule of law is not restored in the state, we have no alternative to organising people's movement," he said.