Agartala, June 6 (IANS): The opposition CPI-M in Tripura on Saturday alleged that the ruling BJP sponsored goons are attacking the Left leaders and workers organising voluntary blood donation camps and giving relief material to the COVID-19 distressed people.

Communist Party of India-Marxist Tripura state secretary Gautam Das said that goons and workers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party are attacking the Left leaders, workers and supporters while they are organising voluntary blood donation camps and providing foods items and relief material to the people affected by COVID-19."Despite the series of attacks, the CPI-M has so far given food items and relief materials to 91,156 distressed families in 2147 places across the state. Our efforts to provide relief to the hapless people will continue," Das told the media.

He said that the issue was raised at the all party meeting held on April 29, but the attacks are continuing. "Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who presided over the all party meeting and also holds the home Department and other BJP leaders did not condemn such attacks. None of the attackers was arrested," said Das, who is also a CPI-M central committee member.

Accusing the state government of not dealing properly with COVID-19, the Left leader said that though the state government has not yet said so, but the community transmission of the novel coronavirus has already been witnessed in Tripura. A woman, a prisoner in the central jail and some other people recently tested COVID-19 positive without any travel history. "We have been demanding to test the samples of those people returning to the state by train and otherwise, but the government is not doing that," the CPI-M leader said.

"BJP leaders and workers have collected huge amounts of money from the people to provide relief to the needy, but have spent little out of the collected money," Das claimed.

He said that as part of the party's nationwide programme, the CPI-M would organise demonstrations and rallies on June 16 in support of their four-point demands, including providing Rs 7,500 per month and 10 kg rice for six months to the poor and lower middle class families, at least 200 days of work under the MGNREGA, its wage increase and monthly allowance to the unemployed youths.