BJP to rebuild razed statue of Left leader: Tripura CM
Agartala, July 28: The BJP will reconstruct the razed statue of Tripura's communist leader Baidyanath Majumder and the police are probing the incident, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said here on Saturday.
A Majumder's life-sized statue was knocked down late on Wednesday in Unakoti district headquarters Kailashahar.
Freedom fighter-turned-politician, Majumder was a founding member of the communist base in Tripura in early 1940s. He was Deputy Chief Minister of the state from 1993 to 1998.
"I have asked our party leaders in Kailashahar to rebuild the statue from the party fund. State government will support the initiative.
"This is not the culture of BJP to tear down the statue of a man like Baidyanath Majumder," Deb told the media here.
He said: "I have asked the Director General of Police (Akhil Kumar Shukla) to send the DIG (northern range) to the spot and inquire into the matter. Nobody behind the incident would be spared.
"I have also asked the DGP to see whether this is a part of the conspiracy to tarnish the image of the BJP government."
Deb, also the president of ruling BJP Tripura Pradesh Committee, said : "I knew him (Majumder) when I was a student. He was a very good man."
The Chief Minister's reaction came after widespread criticism of the demolition of the statue of Majumder, who began his political career in 1942.
Majumder was also a member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) central committee.
All political parties, including the ruling BJP and opposition Congress, earlier strongly condemned the demolition.
The police so far have arrested two persons in this connection. However, the detainees got bail on Friday.
The CPI-M organised protest rallies over the past three days in different parts of the state, including here, demanding action.
Accusing "BJP goons" of pulling down the statue, CPI-M leader Biswarup Goswami has said that the BJP activists earlier bulldozed the statues of Lenin, Marx, Bhimrao Ambedkar, former Tripura Chief Ministers and father-figures of Communist movement in Tripura, Dasaratha Deb and Nripen Chakraborty.
The BJP has, however, denied the charges.
Majumder, who died in 2011, was actively associated with the freedom movement and was a close associate of renowned freedom fighter Surya Sen, who led the Chittagong armoury raid in 1930.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
