PK's I-PAC team members under 'house arrest' in Agartala hotel

MP | 27 July 2021 | Kolkata: A team of poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), which had gone to Tripura to carry out some groundwork for Trinamool Congress (TMC), has been allegedly put under 'house arrest' at a hotel there since Sunday night. 

Condemning the incident, Trinamool Congress all-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee tweeted: "They are so rattled by our victory in #Bengal that they've now kept 23 IPAC employees under house arrest. Democracy in this nation dies a thousand deaths under BJP's misrule!" 

The matter has been reported to the Trinamool Congress supremo, Mamata Banerjee, by Ashis Lal Singha, the party's president for the Tripura unit. Earlier, about 82 TMC supporters were arrested when they had gone to attend the virtual meeting of Mamata Banerjee on July 21. 

A 23-member team of I-PAC arrived in Tripura to conduct some surveys for TMC. Sources said Abhishek is likely to visit Tripura in early August. Earlier, he had said the party would spread its tentacles to other states. Tripura will go to the Assembly polls in 2023. The support base of TMC is fast increasing in the state. 

Singha alleged that policemen had raided the hotel where I-PAC members had been staying on Sunday night and allegedly put them under 'house arrest'. "They were not allowed to step out of the hotel. 

All the members have negative RT-PCR reports," Singha added. The police claimed that since they had come from outside the state, it was essential to check their Covid reports. Also 

The TMC leader maintained that as BJP was fast losing ground in Tripura, Chief Minister Biplab Deb had taken all sorts of coercive measures to stifle the voice of the Opposition. 

The people of Tripura had voted for BJP to put an end to CPI(M) rule in 2018. Soon, they (Tripura people) realised what mistake they had made. Many CPI(M) party offices had been razed to the ground. The promises made before the Assembly election have not been kept and the people by and large have been hit by the BJP's anti-people policy. 

Under such a situation, they are looking for an alternative. After the TMC defeated BJP in the 2021 Assembly elections, the popularity of Mamata Banerjee has shot up, Singha pointed out. 

"We are keeping a tab on the situation and would make an issue if the IPAC members are not allowed to work," he added.

(http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/bengal-govt-sets-up-2-member-inquiry-commission-447922?infinitescroll=1)