Agartala: Leader of the Opposition, Manik Sarkar on Friday alleged that the state government has adopted a lackadaisical attitude towards the looming threats from active insurgent groups in the state.
He claimed that due to lack of timely and effective steps by the government, security personnel were being killed in militant ambushes in recent times.
The former CM also requested the state government to find out the political links of banned outfits so that politically-sponsored insurgent moves could be averted.
Sarkar issued a statement on Friday to condemn the killing of BSF soldier Grijesh Kumar Uddey and extend his condolences towards the bereaved family.
“I condemn the cowardly attack of the outlawed NLFT militants. In regard to the recent attacks of the NLFT militants on security personnel posted at different areas of the state, I have tried to warn the state government of the imminent trouble. In my communications, I had demanded that these issues should be handled with strong hands,” he said.
He also urged the government to find out and defuse the political sympathisers of such groups. “The militants are used for serving the narrow political interests of some politicians. Newspaper reports have indicated links between these banned groups and some political personalities. Stringent action should be taken against those people,” he added.
Sarkar also alleged that sending TSR battalions out of the state as “rented force” is also a reason behind such attacks.
“We have protested against the decision of sending TSR personnel out of the state. In the bordering regions, TSR posts acted as a second line of defense. We urged the government not to disturb the second defence-line but no one paid any heed to our demands. The apathy of the state government in combating such threats led to this killing. The state government can’t shy away from taking responsibility for the killing,” Sarkar added.
In a separate press statement, CPI-M Tripura State secretariat also condemned the killing and said that due to consistent and coordinated efforts of the previous Left Front government, it could put an end to the active militancy in the state.
“But after the BJP-IPFT government came to power, the government seems to be little relaxed in the question of peace and security in the insurgency-prone bordering areas,” the statement added.
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