A five-member Trinamool Congress delegation from Kolkata, including two MPs and a West Bengal minister, visited Tripura on Wednesday (October 9, 2025) after their party office at Agartala’s Dhaleshwar was vandalised the night before, allegedly by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers.
“The maa, mati, manush of Tripura has given us a lot of love and respect… They are happy that we are back. Tripura Trinamool Congress is here to stay. If we were that insignificant, and if the BJP government of Tripura did not have any issues with us, then why would our party office here be vandalised?” Trinamool MP Saayoni Ghosh said at a press conference at the vandalised party office today.
The delegation, comprising Ms Ghosh, Lok Sabha MP Pratima Mondal, MLA and West Bengal Minister Birbaha Hansda, and spokespersons Kunal Ghosh and Sudip Raha, visited the Tripura Pradesh Trinamool Congress office at Agartala on Wednesday, hours after it was vandalised the night before. The party alleged that the attack was carried out by BJP workers, and accused the State police of inaction despite being present.
The attack notably followed the grievous physical assault on BJP MP Khagen Murmu and MLA Shankar Ghosh at Nagrakata in West Bengal’s flood-hit Jalpaiguri district on Monday, and the attack on BJP MLA Manoj Kumar Oraon at Kumargram on Tuesday (October 8, 2025). In both instances, the saffron party blamed Trinamool.
Trinamool delegation stranded at Agartala airport
However, the Trinamool delegation’s visit to their Agartala office which was initially scheduled immediately after their arrival at the Agartala airport around 12:30 p.m., was delayed by several hours after drama unfolded surrounding the delegation’s exit from the airport.
“After we landed today, we found out that the drivers who had come to pick us up were threatened and sent away from the airport. They did not let us even avail a prepaid taxi from the airport… When we decided we would walk from the airport, the police stopped us. We told the police that we will walk to our office unless they arrange for vehicles for us urgently,” party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
The delegation, which was joined by Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev, even organised a brief sit-down demonstration at the airport.
“When BJP leaders from Tripura visit West Bengal, they roam around freely and engage in all kinds of activities ranging from political rallies to weddings. But when we visit Tripura under BJP rule, we see hotels getting vandalised, hotel owners being threatened, our workers being assaulted, their vehicles being thrashed,” Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
After the airport incident, the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raised questions on the ‘double-engine BJP government’ of Tripura and cited past instances of attacks on Trinamool leaders and their convoys in Tripura, including that of Abhishek Banerjee and MP Sushmita Dev.
“We sent merely a five-member delegation comprising a minister, MPs, and MLA. But [the Tripura government] stopped them at the airport. Even a paid taxi was not allowed for them. They waited for a long time… After that, I told them to start walking. If they would have stopped them from that, I would have gone there myself to see how much audacity they have,” West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee said after the incident at the airport unfolded.
Later in the day, the delegation met with the Director General of Police of Tripura to discuss the attack on the party office as well as the delegation’s experience at the airport, both of which, they alleged, had unfolded in the presence of the police. The delegation is likely to meet the Tripura Governor tomorrow.
It is worth noting that Trinamool Congress had contested elections in Tripura, including the Assembly polls in 2018 and 2023. It had won one seat in the civic polls in Tripura in 2021.
BJP reacts to allegations
The saffron party on Wednesday accused the Trinamool of trying to distract the public with their Tripura visit.
“It seems very strange that Trinamool has alleged that the BJP government has vandalised their party office. Why would BJP want to do that when Trinamool has no existence in Tripura? … On one hand, Mamata Banerjee’s people would assault BJP workers for fourteen years, smash an MP’s face to the point of bleeding. She shouldn’t think these things will not have an effect on people in Delhi, Tripura or elsewhere,” BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul told The Hindu.
Published – October 09, 2025 04:45 am IST
