Cong-sponsored Tripura shutdown evokes partial response

The 24-hour shutdown, called by Youth Congress to protest against the police lathicharge on their activists agitating against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) here on Wednesday, evoked partial response on Thursday.

Police detained few hundred picketers in West Tripura and Sepahijala districts.

According to Additional Director General of Police Rajiv Singh, there is no incident on Thursday in anywhere in Tripura. "Situation remained absolutely peaceful and normal," Singh told IANS.

Presence in government offices, banks near normal while educational institutions somewhere closed and some places functioning. Shops, markets and business establishments partially opened. Most private and passenger vehicles remained off the road.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), which operates trains in some parts of Bihar and West Bengal, besides entire northeastern region, either cancelled or rescheduled many trains including Humsafar Express and Kanchanjunga Express since Monday.

The NFR did not operate any train in Tripura on Thursday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party led government in a circular asked its officials and employees to remain present in offices and to maintain normalcy. Tripura Pradesh Youth Congress President Pujan Biswas said the police resorted to unprovoked lathicharge on peaceful protesters in the state capital on Wednesday.

"To protest the police lathicharge we have given a call for 24-hour strike across Tripura on Thursday. The strike is total and successful," Biswas said.

Tripura Pradesh Congress ad-hoc committee Chairman Pijush Biswas said seven party workers, including women and few journalists, were injured in the lathicharge. Senior Congress leader Gopal Roy said the police and other security forces at the behest of the government acted against the peaceful Congress agitators.

"The BJP government in Tripura, since it assumed office in March 2018, has unleased a reign of terror against the democratic movement and opposition parties," Roy said.

As part of the Congress nation-wide protest against the CAB, the party leaders and workers held demonstrations in different parts of Tripura on Wednesday.IANS