Tripura minister threatens legal action over alleged defamatory remarks by LoP

Tripura Scheduled Caste Welfare Minister Sudhangshu Das said Thursday he will approach the High Court if Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury does not publicly apologise by October 26 for allegedly making derogatory remarks against him and his family.

Speaking at a press conference, Das, who also holds the ARDD portfolio, accused the CPIM leader of spreading false allegations intended to defame him. “Chaudhury has questioned my income and tax payments, but I have been filing income tax returns since 2014 while working in the private sector,” he said.

Das highlighted past controversies surrounding Chaudhury, noting that “the then Chief Minister Manik Sarkar had removed him from the Tribal Welfare portfolio following reports of alleged corruption.” He also criticised the CPIM for bringing his mother into the dispute, saying, “It is shameful that they are dragging my mother into this, calling her anti-Sanatan Dharma.”

The minister issued a direct challenge to Chaudhury, stating that if the CPIM leader could prove within ten days that Das’s brother is a bigger taxpayer in the state, he would resign. “But if he fails to do this by October 26, he must apologise. If not, I will file a defamation case in court,” Das said.

Citing alleged corruption during Chaudhury’s tenure as a minister in the Left Front government, Das referred to claims by CPIM youth leader Chandi Charan Tripura that Chaudhury was involved in a Rs 26 crore scam, which was reportedly covered by national media.

Das described Chaudhury’s accusations as “completely irrelevant and baseless” and criticized CPIM leaders, alleging they “have a mentality like China and Pakistan” and calling communists “liars.”