Uproar in House over Tripura minister’s Fb post

Agartala: The assembly witnessed an uproar on Wednesday over a Facebook post made by fisheries minister Sudhangsu Das in which he allegedly undermined the secular spirit of the Constitution. Congress and CPM have demanded an apology from the minister.
In his Facebook post on Sunday, Das appealed to Hindu believers to unite against recent incidents of defacing idols by miscreants in different parts of the state.He urged the society to launch protests against anti-Hindu activities.
Congress legislator Birajit Sinha raised the issue in the assembly, seeking an apology from Das. Sinha argued, “The post was instigating and encouraging communal violence, which a minister after taking an oath cannot do. His act must be condemned in the assembly and Das should apologize.” Other opposition members, including CPM MLA Jitendra Chaudhury and Congress MLAs Sudip Roybarman and Gopal Roy, supported Sinha, stating that the post appeared to be against minorities and could potentially incite communal violence, despite Das deleting it within an hour.
BJP MLAs Abhishek Debroy, Shambhu Lal Chakma, Binoy Bhusan Das, and Kishore Barman defended Das, arguing that he had expressed his mind in favor of his religious belief, which is allowed by the Constitution. They maintained that Das neither mentioned any minority community or group nor instigated violence, but rather urged fellow Hindus to come together to protect their belief.
Tourism minister Sushanta Chowdhury and parliamentary affairs minister Ratan Lal Nath stated that Das had no communal intention, but expressed his mind following continuous atrocities on minorities in neighboring countries and deliberate attempts to attack idols by some vested interest groups to create communal tension. They pointed out that Das had deleted the post immediately after realizing it was improper, and the party had not reacted to the controversy, signifying the govt and the party’s position on the matter.
When speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen asked Das to speak on the issue, the entire opposition protested, accusing the speaker of taking a partisan stand in favor of the religious line and insisting that the minister justify his stance beyond the statements made by the two senior ministers. The house eventually calmed down, and business resumed after Das was prevented from speaking further.