Vehicles which were vandalised at the event
Around 15 motorcycles and five cars were damaged,” he said. BJP mandal president Jayanta Debbarma said a group of youths, allegedly affiliated with Motha, launched a sudden and unprovoked attack on a peaceful gathering.
Motha, however, denied the charge and said the attack was the fallout of a personal rivalry between the BJP’s mandal president and workers of his former party, CPM. The injured were admitted in the district hospital and all of them are said to be out of danger. Refuting the allegation, forest minister Debbarma said it could be a conspiracy to defame Motha. “It’s a well-designed attack by a vested quarter of the ruling party to discredit the CM in an attempt to achieve some mileage, as BJP is facing internal trouble to elect its state president for seven months,” former BJP minister and now Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman said.
Asarambari is known to be a stronghold of Tipra Motha and is represented in the assembly by Animesh Debbarma, forest minister in CM Manik Saha’s cabinet. “Motha goons disrupted the programme, vandalised my vehicle, and even attacked the homeowner who hosted the event. Debbarma claimed several BJP workers suffered injuries. Pradyot, however, refuted the charge and claimed no worker of his party was involved. “The BJP mandal president was once a CPM cadre and this appears to be the result of a longstanding dispute between him and his former party. Those responsible must be identified and strict action taken. Opposition CPM and Congress also condemned the violence.
“I will personally visit Asarambari on Monday to take stock of the situation and ensure justice.
BJP MLA from neighbouring Kalyanpur constituency, Pinaki Das Chowdhury, alleged the attackers were identified as Motha supporters. He alleged they abused PM Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and CM Saha, and raised slogans in praise of Motha founder and royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarman.