Tripura BJP minister targets Opposition with ‘Chinese’, ‘anti-national’ and ‘Pakistan-loving’ remarks
Agartala : A senior minister in India’s northeastern state of Tripura has launched a sharp attack on opposition parties, using terms such as “Chinese party”, “anti-national communists” and “Pakistan-loving Congress” during an election campaign ahead of the Village Committee polls.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Tripura Social Welfare Minister Sudhangshu Das made the remarks on Wednesday while campaigning for a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the September 28 elections under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
Addressing the campaign gathering, Das claimed that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would win the polls by a “huge margin”. He said the elections were important because Village Committees would function as grassroots institutions in the tribal areas.
The minister said the BJP was contesting the elections in alliance with the Tipra Motha Party and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT). He acknowledged that alliance partners were facing one another in some localities because of differences over seat adjustments, describing such contests as “friendly fights”.
Das then directed his remarks at the opposition, referring to unnamed political groups as the “Chinese party” and “anti-national communists”, while describing the Congress as “Pakistan-loving”.
“I doubt that the Chinese party or the anti-national communists or the Pakistan-loving Congress will be able to open their accounts in this election,” he said.
His remarks came amid an active campaign for the Village Committee elections, which are being held after a gap of nearly a decade. The polls cover 587 Village Committees and 4,597 seats, with a substantial number of seats already decided without contests.
The BJP, Tipra Motha and IPFT have been coordinating their campaigns as NDA partners, although differences between the allies have resulted in contests in some local areas. Recent reports have also highlighted disagreements among alliance partners over the handling of such “friendly fights”.
Meanwhile, the Congress has accused the BJP-led government of using administrative machinery to influence the elections and alleged that opposition candidates were obstructed or pressured at some places. The allegations have not been independently verified.
The exchange of allegations and increasingly sharp campaign rhetoric has intensified the political atmosphere in Tripura ahead of the September 28 tribal local-body elections.
