Agartala, March 25 (UNI) Leader of the opposition and CPI-M state Secretary Jitendra Chaudhury on Tuesday moved a privilege motion against Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath for his alleged racial comment against Chaudhury.
He stated, “Nath abused me, saying - Jiten babu has demonstrated his tribe, which is not only derogatory and abusive but also more racially against me, my family, and my community. Such an unconstitutional behaviour and communal reaction from a senior Minister is uncalled for, and he has to seek an apology to the tribal communities of Tripura.”
Describing the incident Chaudhury said during the budget discussion on Monday he raised a question without naming anybody that “The elder brother of a Minister was felicitated by Chief Minister recently for paying the highest tax, but the person worked as a daily rated worker in various shops before 2018 and the family had a BPL card even five years ago. How did this person accumulate so much money in a few years?”
Ratan Lal Nath objected to Chaudhury and engaged in arguments, and at one point in time, he repeated a remark and threatened, “You (Chaudhury) have introduced your Jat (community) by raising a personal issue. We shall confine you in Melarmath (CPI-M headquarters), if you try to continue this behaviour in the house.”
On Tuesday, Deputy Leader of the opposition Shyamal Chakraborty raised the issue and alleged, Minister Nath had remarked because Choudhury belonged to the tribal community. He said, “Attacking any person for his caste, community, creed, and race is unconstitutional and uncalled for. Hence, we demand the minister to withdraw it and seek pardon.”
Chakraborty, however, said, “He could have criticized the ideology of our party, instead, he made a caste-based comment. This is unacceptable and condemnable. A senior legislator should not make such remarks, and we demand that he retract his statement.”
Defending himself, Minister Ratan Lal Nath countered the opposition’s claims, saying, “Are you trying to provoke indigenous people? Do you not have other issues to raise? The people of Tripura are aware of your negative propaganda. We are not engaging in hooliganism - your party is.”
In response, Jitendra Chaudhury remarked, “This is not civilized behaviour; this is hooliganism.” His comment led the Speaker to instruct that the word “hooliganism” be withdrawn. Unhappy with the decision, CPI-M MLAs rushed to the well and demanded to settle the issue before proceeding to the next business, but the Speaker denied it. Finally, they walked out of the house.”
UNI BB BD