Three days after the Tripura Police detained a team of 23 members of election analyst Prashant Kishor's I-PAC sent by the Trinamool Congress, TMC MP Derek O' Brien who reached Agartala on Thursday, said that TMC is ready to take on the BJP beyond Bengal, and alleged that 'threatening and bullying' is the only kind of antics Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah know.
Speaking to reporters here today, O'Brien said, "Modi and Shah, not in Tripura but across the country, inside Parliament, outside Parliament, they are everywhere. They have got thrashed in West Bengal. They spent so much money there. They were just like daily passengers coming there. They used CBI, ED and all the agencies."
"They know that Mamata's Trinamool Congress is ready to take them on, beyond Bengal. This is the only kind of antics they (Modi-Shah) know, threatening and bullying. But we will take them on, head to head," he added.
Earlier on Monday, Tripura Police detained a team of 23 members of Prashant Kishor's I-PAC at Hotel Woodland Park in Agartala, Tripura, sources said.
"They are being interrogated and have been warned by Police not to leave the hotel except for going to the airport to leave the state," Sources told ANI.
The police have not given any official reason for the detention. However, according to Manik Das, Superintendent of Police (SP) West Tripura, the team was in the state "for some research-related work".
"Results of their (I-PAC members) RTPCR test will come tomorrow. They said they were here for some research-related work that is being investigated. After getting COVID test results and outcome of the probe, a decision will be taken on their release," said the SP.
On Wednesday, all the 23 members of Kishor's team, which according to Tripura police was under 'quarantine' in Agartala hotel for 48 hours have obtained negative results of RT-PCR tests, informed a member from the I-PAC team.
Notably, Assembly polls in Tripura are scheduled to be held in 2023.
( With inputs from ANI )
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