CPI(M) turncoat appeals to 'leftists' in Tripura to back Mamata Banerjee & 'save red flag'

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Ritabrata Banerjee on Tuesday called out the Left supporters in Tripura to lend their support to Mamata Banerjee instead. The West Bengal leader appealed to the Left party supporters in the north-eastern state to "strengthen Mamata Banerjee's hand" if they really wished to “save the red flag”. A former CPI(M) MP himself, Ritabrata Banerjee has hit out at the Tripura government and said that the TMC would never wrong the people of Tripura.  

Ex CPI(M) MP asks left supporters to "strengthen Mamata Banerjee's hand" in Tripura

The expelled CPI(M) leader, who switched over to the ruling party in West Bengal, asked the “leftists” in Tripura to back Mamata Banerjee. He said that the TMC would never vandalise opposition party offices or destroy Lenin's statues after they come into power in the state. "I appeal to all the Leftists in Tripura to strengthen Mamata Banerjee's hand if they want to save the red flag,” Banerjee said.  

“If Trinamool Congress comes to power, it would never vandalise opposition party offices or destroy Lenin's statues using bulldozers. If you (Leftists) want to save the dignity of the red flag, TMC has to be strengthened," the TMC leader said.

Banerjee made the comments in reference to the incidents where the BJP-IPFT dispensation bulldozed a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Belonia town, and demolished many CPI(M) party offices in the state, after coming to power in 2018. The government had carried out the demolitions claiming that the establishments were illegally set up over government land. The TMC had unseated the Left Front in West Bengal in 2011 after 34-years in power.

Banerjee, along with West Bengal minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, arrived in Tripura on Tuesday. The leader informed that the TMC is set to form committees till the booth level in the state by the end of this year. Banerjee also went on to slam Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb for his statement that some TMC leaders were involved in cattle smuggling in West Bengal. The TMC leader claimed that the comments indicated the BJP is losing ground in Tripura. He also alleged that several TMC members were being attacked and filed with ‘false cases’. He also claimed that over 13 vehicles were destroyed in such attacks.

(With PTI inputs)

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