Sudhangshu Das. Photo: https://tripura.gov.in/council-ministers
GUWAHATI
The Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Congress, and other political parties on Tuesday (March 18, 2025) demanded the removal of Tripura Minister Sudhangshu Das for his “highly derogatory and seriously objectionable” remarks.
The Tipra Motha Party (TMP), an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, also criticised Mr. Das, who holds the Scheduled Castes Welfare, Fisheries, and Animal Resource Development portfolios, for his “offensive comments” likening several political parties to Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
Tripura CPI(M) secretary and leader of the Opposition, Jitendra Chaudhury said the minister took to social media to rant about Aurangzeb’s pogrom against Hindus, Marathas, and Sikhs apart from destroying numerous temples.
He said the minister accused political parties such as Congress, Samajwadi and the Leftists of endorsing Aurangzeb’s principle of “Islamic brutality, fanaticism, dacoity, uncivilised barbarism, and bestial violence” and asked the “democratic citizens” to be wary of the danger these parties pose for the country.
Mr. Das also wrote Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj were executed by Aurangzeb for resisting conversion to Islam.
In a letter to Tripura Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu, Mr. Chaudhury said such “dangerously divisive” and “communal” remarks by a minister who took oath to uphold constitutional values push society towards instability. He said the Minister’s remarks were unconstitutional, unethical, unjust, and criminal.
Demanding the Minister’s ouster, the CPI(M) leader said Mr. Das was in the habit of posting “abominable” comments.
Senior Congress leader and former Minister Birajit Sinha said the minister’s comments, potentially volatile, should be removed from the social media platforms at the earliest. “The minister posted similar comments earlier, affecting Hindu-Muslim relations in Tripura,” he told journalists in the State’s capital Agartala.
“Someone who is swearing on the Constitution of India should refrain from making such statements. I am indeed shocked and condemn such language by anyone, leave alone those who hold responsible positions in the government,” TMP chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma said.
The Tripura Insaf Parishad, a Muslim organisation, demanded legal action against Mr. Das. The organisation lodged a case against him in the Unakoti district, accusing him of fomenting communal hatred through social media.
Published – March 18, 2025 11:38 pm IST
