Agartala, Oct 31 (IANS): Tripura's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday accused the Trinamool Congress of creating "lawlessness" in the state and claimed that it much ahead of West Bengal in development terms.

State Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said that Trinamool's national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, while addressing a gathering here earlier in the day, praised the CPI-M-led Left, which, according to the BJP leader, "pushed the state into backwardness during their 25 years rule".

He alleged that the Trinamool tried to bring a large number of people from West Bengal and Assam for their public meeting but the state police stopped them at the entry point at Churaibari in northern Tripura and several of them tested Covid-19 positive.

"Saradha chit fund case accused Kunal Ghosh had earlier blamed (Trinammol supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee of involvement in the ponzi scam. Ghosh is also now leading the Trinamool in Tripura. Abhishek Banerjee is accused in coal scam while his wife is accused in gold smuggling cases," Chowdhury, a Trinamool-turned-BJP leader, said, terming the Bengal leaders "migratory birds".

Claiming that BJP-ruled Tripura is far ahead of West Bengal, he said that the per capita income there is Rs 1,15,748 against Tripura's Rs 1,25,191 despite the former having more resources. He said Tripura's GSDP is 16.46 per cent against Bengal's 12.47 per cent and literacy rate 95 per cent against Bengal's 76 per cent.

"Tripura is far better in the Covid management in the country while Bengal not only poorly dealt with the pandemic... Covid vaccines being smuggled in Bengal," he alleged.

Chowdhury's allegations came after Abhishek Banerjee claimed that that the BJP government's "misrule" led to increasing unemployment, deteriorating law and order, worsening education, health care and other basic services.