Latest news with #Chaudhury
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Climate
- Indian Express
CPM should shut down offices and go to China, says Tripura BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb
Tripura BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb said on Tuesday that the CPM should shut down its offices and go to China, responding to the Opposition party's condemnation of the encounter killing of 27 Maoists, including their general secretary Nambala Kesavarao, in Chhattisgarh. The party's Politburo had claimed that appeals for peace from Maoists had been ignored and that the central government as well as BJP-led the state government had chosen to ignore the possibility of dialogues with the rebels. 'The CPM is a banned organisation. Naxals are a banned organisation. Speaking of the banned organisation, the CPM has no place in democracy. If they have shame, they should close their party offices and go to China. They don't have a place in Tripura,' Deb told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to a flood relief camp at Durga Chowmuhani in Agartala. On May 23, Biplab Kumar Deb termed the CPM 'anti-national' for criticising the Centre over the killing of the Maoists. His comments came even though CPM Politburo member and state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury clarified that his party wasn't opposed to any form of military offensive against Maoists or any other radical elements. Rather, Chaudhury said, the party had said the central government had ignored offers of surrender the slain Maoists had allegedly made. 'The CPM or any other patriotic political party or organisation in the country is obviously not opposed to military offensives against terrorists. But while the government is holding peace talks in Nagaland, the central government's move to reject offers of surrender from Maoists and rejecting their plea to return to normal life is not the way things are done…..' Chaudhury said soon after the BJP criticised the Politburo statement. Chaudhury also claimed that while the BJP high command, central government or the Chhattisgarh government didn't criticise the CPM Politburo's statement, some leaders of the saffron party in Tripura were trying to confuse people. During his visit to flood relief camps at Agartala, Biplab Deb continued his tirade against the CPM while distributing food packets. 'Waterlogging in the houses of most people staying in the shelters has reduced. Now they will need to clean their houses in a few days and we have provided food packets to every family so that they have food after reaching home…,' the former chief minister said. Tripura is witnessing heavy rain and thunderstorms that have forced 10,813 people to abandon waterlogged houses and shelter in government camps. As many as 219 houses were damaged in Gomati, Khowai, Sepahijala, South Tripura, and North Tripura districts. However, the assessment of damage is ongoing.
Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Tripura CPM says import curbs on Bangladeshi products will affect people on both sides of border
Tripura's Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury said on Wednesday the central government's import restrictions on Bangladeshi products would lead to losses for both India and the neighbouring country, even as he acknowledged what he said were the probable triggers for the curbs. 'A slew of anti-India comments were coming from Bangladesh with encouragement from the Bangladeshi administration. A lot of human trafficking of Bangladeshi nationals into Tripura also came to the fore recently. I feel these restrictions might have been temporarily imposed because of all these reasons,' the CPM leader told reporters. However, Chaudhury said trade and commerce 'benefit a country, subcontinent, continents, and international relations in economic, cultural, social, and political aspects'. 'This (restriction) is a loss for us indeed', he added. 'Trade and commerce means economic transactions and expansion of scope of employment. If this is stopped, it would lead to loss not only for us, but for people on the other side of the border as well.' Two days ago, the director of the industries and commerce department, Shailesh Kumar Yadav, chaired a meeting at the Integrated Check Post in Agartala to discuss the Centre's new import restrictions. In the meeting, Yadav said that some items including edible oil, fish, LPG and crushed stone would be exempt from the restrictions. The meeting, also attended by officials including from the BSF and the customs and immigration departments, discussed concerns related to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade's order restricting the import of items including garments, plastic goods, wooden furniture, fruit drinks, processed food through any land customs stations or integrated check posts in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura as well as through land customs stations at Changrabandha and Fulbari in West Bengal. While trade representatives have welcomed the restrictions and committed to complying with them, the Opposition CPM has emerged as the first voice of dissent. Asked when elections might be held in Bangladesh, especially given that the chief advisor's administration has been delaying polls since the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government's fall last year, Chaudhury said, 'I can't comment on whether or when elections will be held in Bangladesh. But they are descendants of the 1971 Liberation War tradition. They are the torch-bearers of that tradition. So, that spirit can be hijacked for the time being… The Jamaat-e-Islami or forces who supported Pakistan as razakars (in 1971) can't always suppress the conscience of Bangladeshi citizens forever. I can't, however, comment on whether the elections will be held in December'. Chaudhury, who visited Bollamukha near the international border at Belonia in South Tripura district, said many parts of the area were inundated in pre-monsoon rain, which also caused crop damage, adding that waterlogging and flooding were likely in the forthcoming monsoon as natural water flow to the Indian side had been hampered by an embankment built on the Bangladesh side. Chaudhury, who was accompanied by local MLA Dipankar Sen, Ashok Mitra and others, called for steps to be taken on a war footing to tackle the situation. Amid tensions over the embankment built in Bangladesh in April, months after a similar structure was seen near the international border at Devipur in Tripura's Unakoti district, a state government team visited Belonia and border villages, and held discussions with public representatives, the district magistrate, and other officials. The visiting officials then said repair work on embankments on the Indian side damaged in last year's devastating floods would be completed by June.
The Print
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Hope India-Bangladesh Maitri Setu would be operationalised: Tripura LoP
Chaudhury, a CPI(M) politburo member, said that because of the current situation in Bangladesh, he did not see any possibility of dialogue between the two countries on the matter. Though inaugurated in March 2021, the Rs 133-crore project connecting South Tripura's Sabroom with Bangladesh's Ramgarh was yet to be operationalised. The 1.9-km bridge is located 72 km from Chittagong port. Agartala, May 21 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in Tripura Assembly, Jitendra Chaudhury, expressed hope that the Maitri Setu on River Feni connecting India and Bangladesh would be operationalised. 'The present situation in the neighbouring country might be detrimental to operationalising the bridge now but I am optimistic that it will be opened in future. But at present, I do not see any possibility of dialogue between the two countries on the matter,' he told reporters at Sabroom on Tuesday. The CPI(M) leader also alleged lackadaisical attitude on the part of the BJP's state leadership on the matter. He claimed that the BJP's state leadership has failed to make the Centre realise the importance of the bridge, which would boost trade and regional connectivity between the two countries through the northeastern state. 'Heeding people's wishes, the previous Left Front government had started the process of building the bridge for the movement of people and goods. However, it is yet to be operationalised due to the lackadaisical attitude of the BJP's state leadership, which has also failed to make the Centre realise the importance of the bridge,' he said. Chaudhury, who represents the Sabroom assembly constituency, said he had visited Ramgarh when he was an MP and although former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was in favour of the bridge, BNP was against giving India access to Bangladesh through the bridge. On curbs on the import of Bangladeshi goods, the CPI(M) leader said the Centre might have taken the decision due to 'strong anti-India sentiments' in Bangladesh. 'After the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, there was tension along the eastern border as well. There is also an anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh. I guess the restriction on imports from Bangladesh is a temporary measure,' he said. Besides the Maitri Setu, the Rs 230-crore integrated check-post at Sabroom is also yet to be operationalised following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh in August last year. PTI PS ACD This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Political row after street performer ‘heckled' for singing ‘Allah Ke Bande' on Tripurasundari Temple premises
Tripura's Opposition CPM and ruling BJP have commented on a controversy that erupted when a man allegedly heckled a singer at a street dance performance on the Mata Tripurasundari Temple's premises for singing Kailash Kher's Allah Ke Bande song. In a video of the incident that has gone viral online since May 18, singer Shanu Malakar, from Gomati district, is seen being 'threatened' by a man who introduces himself as a 'rashtravadi' (nationalist) and says Allah's praise cannot be done in a temple. Malakar, in response, says he performs street dance to raise funds to help the poor and needy. The man, who the CPM claims is BJP OBC Morcha leader Tushar Shil from West Tripura, is seen purportedly saying that 'this is Hindustan', 'those who worship Allah' are jihadis', and that 'such songs cannot be sung' on Indian soil. Referring to the video, CPM Politburo member and Opposition leader Jitendra Chaudhury said on Tuesday, 'A post has become viral on social media, after seeing which I got shocked. What is happening in the state! A youth, Sanu Malakar, a folk singer who earns some money from street dance performances and acrobatics, was seen singing a devotional song with an appeal to humanity in a viral post on social media…That song had the word 'Allah' or something related to it… He was threatened by a person in front of a large gathering on why he uttered the word 'Allah'.' Chaudhury alleged that the general mindset of people had turned toxic under BJP rule to the extent that people who question any government decision are asked to go to Pakistan and denied the right to live in India. 'In front of many people, he (Shanu Malakar) was threatened. The one threatening him was almost about to assault him. Probably, it was not seen in the video clip, but it was published in some newspapers that he was physically assaulted as well,' the CPM leader said. Chaudhury also said every Indian has the constitutional right to express their beliefs through devotional songs of any religion. 'So many people have been arrested in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack on different charges and harassed for 10-12 days…. Why is there no arrest here? If police are asked about such issues, they say no one has filed an FIR. Surprisingly, the police suo motu slaps different sections of the law against those who try to speak about constitutional rights,' he said. BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya responded to the controversy. 'It is natural that azaan can't be performed in temples; neither can Durga Puja be performed in mosques. His intention has to be understood.' Commenting on Chaudhury's statements about extensive arrests in the aftermath of the Pahalgam massacre, the BJP leader said, 'If someone tries to speak in favour of Pakistan sitting in India, they will obviously be arrested. Jitenbabu seems to be in favour of such people. If he is, it won't be a very convenient stand for them (CPM).' Last year, the Gomati district magistrate issued a notice prohibiting the shooting and posting online of 'improper' dance or music videos or reels that have the potential to hurt religious sentiments. The April 11, 2024, notice, which also warned of legal action, came after some performances by social media influencers on the premises of the Mata Tripurasundari Temple triggered outrage.
Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘We never surrender to power': Tripura LoP takes potshots at Pradyot Kishore for ‘not on good terms with CPI(M)' remark
Two days after Tipra Motha founder Pradyot Kishore said he was on good terms with both the Congress and the BJP but not with the CPI(M), Tripura Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jitendra Chaudhury Friday criticised the tribal party for joining the BJP-led ruling alliance in the state after having served as the principal Opposition. 'I am not unhappy with his (Pradyot Kishore) statement. I am grateful to him that he had spoken the right thing. The CPI(M) is different. We never surrender to power or any other vested interest,' Chaudhury said. The CPI(M) leader said Kishore's party 'forged an alliance through the backdoor' to help the BJP return to power during the 2023 Assembly elections. Meanwhile, attacking the BJP, Chaudhury said, 'The 125th (Amendment) Bill is kept in the refrigerator in Parliament. In Tripura, for the past 7.5 years, the tribals of Tripura have been made second-class citizens. The TTAADC (Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council) has been reduced to a beggar. They are not conducting village council elections as well.' Chaudhury also criticised BJP MLA Sudhangshu Das over his recent controversial remark on the Pahalgam terror attack and called him a 'habitual offender'. Pradyot Kishore had visited the Congress Bhawan in Agartala on Wednesday to return some party flags lying with him from the time when he was a member of the Grand Old Party. He even served as the state president of the Congress in 2019, and later floated the Tipra Motha. When asked about his visit to the Congress office, Pradyot Kishore had made the 'not on good terms with the CPI(M)' comment. Earlier, on several occasions, Pradyot Kishore was heard saying that tribals were deliberately kept poor during the 25 years of Communist rule from 1993-2018, and former BJP CM and Lok Sabha member Biplab Kumar Deb 'really loves tribals'.
