Tripura violence: As CPM-BJP workers spar over toppled Lenin statue, Rajnath tells governor to ensure peace till new govt comes in

Amid reports of sporadic violence in Tripura, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday spoke to the Governor and the DGP and asked them to ensure peace till a new government is installed, an official said.

During the telephonic calls, Governor Tathagata Roy and DGP A K Shukla apprised Rajnath about the prevailing situation in Tripura and steps taken to control the violence, which erupted following the BJP-IPFT alliances victory over the CPM, ousting the Manik Sarkar led government in the just concluded Assembly elections.

File image of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. PTI

Singh asked the governor and the DGP to check all kinds of violence and ensure peace till a new government is installed in Tripura, the home ministry official said.

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There have been reports of sporadic violence and clashes between rival political groups in different parts of Tripura after the election results were declared on Saturday.

A statue of Vladimir Lenin was bulldozed at Belonia town in South Tripura on Monday. CPM workers alleged that it was the job of BJP workers.The statue's vandalism was part of large-scale violence reported from Tripura, as CPM offices in different parts of the state were defaced.

A report in The Indian Express said the Lenin's statue had stood in Belonia's College Square for the last five years before it was brought down by BJP workers on Monday afternoon, to the cries of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai". The CPM has decried the violence and termed it "Communism phobia". "Eyewitnesses told me that after the statue fell, its head was dismembered from the body. And then, the BJP workers played football with Lenin's head," Tapas Datta, CPM's Belonia sub-division secretary, was quoted as saying in the report.

Tripura witnessed a change in rule after 25 years in the recently concluded Assembly elections. The BJP demolished the Left citadel in Tripura, winning a two-third majority with its ally, the IPFT.

Tripura Police said it had received four complaints of "post-poll" violence from various parts of the state since Sunday night. "The cases include arson at two CPI(M) offices in the Sidhai area in West Tripura district, 25 km from here, and clashes between CPI(M) and BJP supporters at Kadamtala in North Tripura district, 140km from here," Superintendent of Police (Control) Pradip De was quoted as saying by News18. De added that there have been no arrests made so far.

With inputs from PTI