Agartala, September 18: The Tripura Pradesh Congress staged a protest in Agartala on Wednesday, demonstrating against BJP leaders and their allies over threats made against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
The protesters raised slogans and burned effigies of the BJP and its ally leaders followed by the lodging of a formal police complaint at West Agartala police station by Congress state president Asish Kumar Saha.
In his complaint, Saha named several political figures, including Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, Delhi BJP leader Tarvinder Singh Marwah, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, and Uttar Pradesh Minister Raghuraj Singh, accusing them of inciting violence against Rahul Gandhi.
The complaint specifically highlighted remarks made by Tarvinder Singh Marwah during a BJP event on September 11, where he threatened Rahul Gandhi by saying, “Rahul Gandhi baaz aaja, nahi toh aane wale time mein tera bhi wohi haal hoga jo teri dadi ka haal hua” (You better behave, or you will meet the same fate as your grandmother), referring to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
Saha also cited Sanjay Gaikwad’s statement from September 16, where Gaikwad publicly offered a bounty of Rs 11 lakh to anyone who would “cut the tongue” of Rahul Gandhi.
Saha accompanied by other senior Congress leaders including MLA Sudip Roy Barman, Youth Congress president Neel Kamal Saha, Women Congress chief and others condemned the remarks as an open incitement to violence, intended to disturb public peace.
Saha also raised concerns about the law and order situation in Tripura and alleged that Opposition party leaders, their houses and offices are not safe under BJP.
Meantime, former Minister and Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman, speaking to the media after the protest, criticized these remarks, alleging that they were deliberate distractions meant to divert attention from the government’s failures.
Barman pointed out that despite 100 days of the Modi government’s third term, there was nothing positive to showcase, rather India under Modi has declined in fields which is clear from the global indicators, such as its fall to 111th place in the Global Hunger Index.
In his letter, Saha requested that an FIR be registered against the named individuals under sections for criminal intimidation and public mischief, urging the police to take immediate action.
He argued that the threats posed a serious risk to Rahul Gandhi’s safety and were part of a broader campaign to incite hatred against Gandhi and the Congress party.
