Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

PM Modi summons Tripura CM Biplab Deb over controversial statements: Report

Biplab Deb, who took charge of Tripura last month, has made several remarks which have been triggered widespread criticism.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has summoned Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb over his controversial statements. A senior BJP leader on Sunday said Deb has been summoned to meet Modi and BJP President Amit Shah on May 2 in the national capital.

Deb, who took charge of Tripura last month, has made several remarks which have been triggered widespread criticism. He had stated that the Internet and satellite communication existed during the Mahabharata era. He also questioned the crowning of Diana Hayden as Miss World in 1997.

The chief minister also stated that mechanical engineers should not opt for civil services, but civil engineers should. He has also asked the educated youth to set up paan shops instead of running after political parties to get government jobs. He also asked youth to explore a career in the dairy field and keep cows.
“Senior party leaders are miffed over the controversies triggered by Deb’s statements. Deb is just saying anything and everything. Modi will talk to him,” said a senior party leader on Sunday.

Didn’t say mechanical engineers mustn’t go for civil service: Biplab Deb makes U-turn
Explaining his stance, the Chief Minister had said that if civil engineers enter civil services, they can help with construction projects, whereas mechanical engineers will not be able to do so.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb, who has been courting controversies with his bizarre statements, Sunday sought to clarify his remarks on civil services. “I didn’t say mechanical engineers must not go for civil service. I said that civil engineers should join civil services as they have experience about administration,” the Tripura CM was quoted as saying by ANI.

In a video that went viral on social media, the CM while addressing a gathering during the Civil service day, said, “Those who are from a mechanical engineering background should not opt for civil services. Society has to be built up. Civil engineers have this knowledge… Because those in the administration have to build society.”

Explaining his stance, the Chief Minister had said that if civil engineers enter civil services, they can help with construction projects, whereas mechanical engineers will not be able to do so.

According to an IANS report, CM Deb has been summoned to meet PM Modi and BJP Amit Shah on May 2, 2018 in New Delhi. “Senior party leaders are miffed over the controversies triggered by Deb’s statements. Deb is just saying anything and everything. Modi will talk to him,” a senior BJP leader was quoted as saying by IANS.
arlier this month, Deb had suggested that the internet was an invention of India. “Not the US and other western countries, but the internet was invented by India lakhs of years ago. Many may decline the fact, but if the internet was not there, how Sanjay, could see the war in Kurukshetra and describe it to Dhritarashtra? It means internet was there, the satellites and that technology was there in this country at that time ,” he said.

Referring to ancient mythologies like Ramayana and Mahabharata to back his claim, the BJP leader said, “If a person (Sanjaya) can see whats happening at the battlefield 50 km away and describe it to the King, there has to be a technique. It can’t be his eyes. There was some technique — Sanjay’s technique is Internet today,” adding that only those who don’t want to accept that “Bharat had a great civilisation” were opposed to what he had said.

Continuing his string of bizarre statements, the 46-year-old leader on Friday had questioned the crowning of Diana Hayden as “Miss World” in 1997. Alleging that these contests were a farce, he added, “Whoever contested the international beauty pageants won. For five consecutive years, we won the Miss World/Miss Universe awards. Diana Hayden won it too. Do you think she should have won the title? We see women as goddess Laxmi, Saraswati. Aishwarya Rai represents the Indian women. She became the Miss World and that’s all right. But I do not understand the beauty of Diana Hayden.” However, he expressed regret over his remarks a day later. “I was talking about how the handlooms of the state could be marketed well. If anybody is hurt or feeling defamed, I regret this… I respect all women as my mother,” he told reporters.

Going a step ahead, the chief minister earlier today suggested that the youth should not run behind politicians seeking government jobs, but instead “set up paan shops or rear cows.” “The youth here run after political parties for several years to get a government job and waste the vital time of their life, had the same youth instead of running after parties set up a paan shop he would have by now had a bank balance of Rs 5 lakhs,” he said.

He also advised graduates to rear a cow instead of remaining unemployed. “Every household must rear a cow. Here milk sells for Rs 50 a litre. Had a graduate who has been searching for employment in the last 10 years reared a cow, then their bank balance would have been Rs 10 lakh by now,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.