Tripura: CPI(M) affiliate's office demolition sparks row, party slams BJP

The bulldozing of a CPI(M) affiliate's office in Tripura sparks row. Administration claims that the lease tenure had expired while Opposition allege that the demolition was conducted under pressure.

The bulldozing of a CPI(M) affiliate's office in Tripura's Khowai district has sparked a row, with the administration claiming that the tenure of a lease had expired while the Opposition party alleging that the demolition was conducted under pressure from those in power.

The Teliamura subdivisional office of CPI(M)-affiliated Tripura Employees' Coordination Committee (TECC) was set up on a plot leased out by the government 30 years ago.

It was brought down on Tuesday as the lease tenure had expired in 2017, Teliamura Sub-divisional Magistrate M Sajad told PTI over the phone.

CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury, however, strongly condemned the act of the administration, and said the demolition was carried out under pressure from the people in power.

"The office was operational for the last 30 years. Since the tenure of the lease had expired, the local TECC leaders had approached the Teliamura SDM seeking an extension of the lease but the administration did not pay any heed to their pleas. Finding no other alternative, TECC had knocked the court's door seeking an extension of the lease," he told reporters.

Chowdhury said the writ petition seeking an extension of the lease was scheduled to be heard by the court on Wednesday.

"A day before the matter was scheduled to be heard in the court, the local administration, at the behest of the people in power, bulldozed the office. They acted in a way as if a big project was getting stalled because of the TECC office's presence," he added.

The former MP alleged that several Opposition party offices set up on government land have been demolished since 2018, when the BJP came to power in the state.

"However, the BJP has established at least 200 party offices on government lands from Sabroom to Dharmanagar but no legal action has been taken," he said.

"The BJP's days are counted. It will remain in power for the next 200 days only. It will be taught a lesson in the people's court in next year's assembly elections," he added.