All India Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in a tweet said that the proposed Padayatra in Agartala has been rejected twice by the Tripura Police. The TMC alleged that the rejections were politically motivated. But police said the permission for the September 15 Padayatra was not given as there was another prescheduled political programme on the same venue and same route. The TMC applied for rescheduled Padayatra in next day September 16 but this permission was declined as Viswakarma Puja would be held on September 17 and as such on September 16 police would be preoccupied otherwise with law and order arrangements.
TMC’s West Bengal leader Kunal Ghosh said that the Padayatra of Abhishek Banerjee was scheduled on September 15 and Subal Bhowmik on behalf of the party had sought police permission for the same.
“But, police in a letter informed us that permission was already given to another political party for a programme in the same route (Rabindra Bhavan to Orient Chowmuhani) on the same day as prayed by the TMC. In the same letter, police next mentioned that the permission was given for a mass rally throughout the Agartala city,” Ghosh said in a press conference in the city on Monday.
He also stated that as per information available with the party, an organization of the BJP would go for a Rail strike in Dharmanagar on September 14 and 15 next.
“It’s a conspiracy of the BJP out of fear. We strongly condemn such conspiracy. It has now been proved that BJP and its branches are fearing TMC’s rise in Tripura,” Ghosh said, adding that as per direction of party’s top leaders, the protest programme was rescheduled on September 16. The Padayatra would begin at 2 pm and the route would be the same.
However late at night police once again denied permission for the rescheduled Padyatra on September 16.
TMC leader Sushmita Dev alleged that the police was trying to thwart the protest programme of party’s All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
She asked some specific question- which political party sought permission for a political rally in the same route or throughout the city? When did they seek permission (including date and time)? Where did the other political party police receive the letter from the other political party?
She also asked Tripura Police if they arrested anybody in connection with the attack on the newspaper office. She sought to know the action taken in this regard.