Sudhangshu Das controversial post: Uproar in Tripura Assembly as Opposition seeks minister’s apology

The Congress legislators on Tuesday demanded Das’ apology in the Assembly even as Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury justified that Sudhangshu Das has “repented his action” by deleting the comments.

Amidst regular proceedings in the House, former minister and veteran Congress MLA Birajit Sinha requested for a discussion on the sensitive statement made by the minister that could “disrupt peace and solidarity in the state”.

Reading out the minister’s statement, Sinha said that such a remark should not have come from a responsible minister. “It has to be withdrawn and the minister has to apologize for it in the House,” the Congress legislator said.

Former minister Sudip Roy Barman, also a Congress Working Committee (CWC) member, and veteran Congress MLA Gopal Chandra Roy also demanded the minister’s apology in the Assembly.

Meanwhile, Sudhangshu Das tried to clarify his stand in the House citing a series of incidents before the Independence, including the Direct Action Day, Great Bengal Killing, Noakhali Riots, and Kashmiri Pandits’ exodus from Jammu and Kashmir. He said the pattern of violence has continued in the same way since 1946.

As Speaker Biswabandhu Sen said Sudhangshu Das spoke about Hindus who comprise 85 per cent of the nation’s population, Opposition Leader and CPI(M) legislator Jitendra Chaudhary was seen shouting protests saying the Assembly was encouraging a hate speech crime.

Treasury bench members seem divided in opinion

However, the treasury bench members seemed divided in their opinion about Das’s statement. Unlike Sushanta Chowdhury, several other BJP legislators hailed Das for “speaking his mind” in the light of incidents of vandalising Hindu temples and idols in Tripura and neighbouring Bangladesh.

“Sudhangshu Das’s post was seen by all of us. An (Opposition) MLA here admitted it was deleted later. The fact that it was deleted by him shows that he has repentance. It has to be understood that he did it (deleting the post) at the behest of the (ruling) party. We all are guided by the Constitution,” Chowdhury said.

However, he shot back at the Congress for having leaders like Kanhaiya Kumar, who was allegedly involved in raising anti-national slogans in support of terrorist Afzal Guru while he was the students’ union president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi in 2016.

“Such people who raised slogans like ‘tukde tukde’ and ‘Afzal huma sharminda hain’, tere katil abhi zinda hain’ – Kanhaiya Kumar, were taken by your party. The person who provoked anti-national sentiments was given a nomination ticket by the Congress. Das expressed his remorse by deleting his post,” Chowdhury said.

However, other BJP MLAs like Abhishek Debroy came out in support of Sudhangshu Das. “We are Indians. Our country comes first to us. The condition of Bangladesh shows that jihadi Islamic forces are at work there. One has to think whether the fall of a government there is good for India or not. Hindu idols are being desecrated. It will be bad for Indians. International forces are at work to harm Indian interests. Can’t the minister speak his mind on behalf of the people?” Debroy asked.

BJP MLA Binoy Bhushan Das said he felt proud as a Hindu and empathised with the sufferings of minorities in Bangladesh. “Minister Sudhangshu Das was forced to comment. I am condemning the incidents in Bangladesh too. These can’t be tolerated,” he added.

The Opposition benches shot back saying that endorsing a hate speech isn’t acceptable in the legislature and marched to the well of the House.

Congress legislator Sudip Roy Barman reiterated that instigative statements can’t be made as India is run by the Constitution and an Indian cannot disgrace the Constitution.

“Your Facebook post was withdrawn later. You came under pressure and withdrew. It’s alright. To err is human. I thought you had realised the mistake. But they (treasure bench members) are trying to support your illogical statement. That is not acceptable. Please refrain. This is India. A humble Hindu, a Mohammedan of 80 or anyone – we feel proud for being Indian. We strongly condemn this statement of yours. Please apologize,” Barman said.

Opposition Leader Jitendra Chaudhary said that he appreciated the minister’s gesture of deleting the post only if he believed that he had done something wrong.

“We had raised the issue to the Chief Minister and requested him to sensitise Das. He forwarded it to the DGP and SP. They said they were verifying. One can’t give such hate speeches after swearing in by the Constitution. He has to apologize,” the Left leader said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath later tried to validate Sudhangshu Das’s statement saying the minister had written against jihadi elements in his social media post, and not against religious minorities of India.

“CPIM is trying to create a riot-like situation,” he said, reading out the Google explanation of ‘jihadi’.

Nath said ‘jihadi’ may mean Islamisation of the entire society but it also may mean using force against Buddhist, Christian, and Hindus to create a new Islamic society.

“Das opposed the second. Swami Vivekananda said society isn’t bad due to criminals but also by the silence of good people. So, he appealed to people against jihad. I know he is inspired by Swamiji’s lessons. Why can’t he say? He spoke against Jihadi, not against religious minorities. He didn’t speak against religious minorities. How the CPIM inferred that jihadis were religious minorities here, is a question that should be asked,” he said.

BJP MLA and minority leader Tofajjal Hossain said Muslims aren’t having any problems under the BJP-ruled Tripura. Instead, he criticised desecration of Hindu temples and idols at Jirania in West Tripura district last month and said the government has handled the issue efficiently through administrative measures.

As Opposition leaders intensified protest, the Speaker denied any further discussion on the issue and moved on to condolence motions for the death of 33 people in the recent floods in Tripura. The natural disaster has caused an estimated damage of over Rs 15,000 crore, including houses, crops, infrastructure, connectivity etc.