|HT|
The supporters of Tripura’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Shambhulal Chakma filed complaints at three separate police stations in Dhalai district on Friday after he received a death threat on social media that went viral. The threat came two days after his controversial statement on madrasas during the recently concluded assembly session.
Chakma alleged that an unidentified person, clad in an Army uniform, in a video posted on social media on Thursday, threatened to stab him with a knife and kill him.
“Salam walaikum Bhaijaan. Are you all fine? I have seen a video again and again on social media. A man named Shambhulal Chakma... BJP MLA... If I get him, I will stab..., “ the person was seen saying in the video.
Later, three separate complaints were filed on the matter at Manikpur, Chhawmanu and Chhailengta police stations by his supporters.
“We request the police personnel to arrest the accused person and take legal action against him (the person who threatened Chakma) and ensure security to the concerned legislator, “ the complainants said, as written in the first information report (FIR). We have identified the profile of the person who gave the threat on social media. We are collecting his details, “ Dhalai superintendent of police Ramesh Yadav told the reporters.
Two days back, during the assembly session, Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), legislator Islamuddin moved a question on alleged communal incidents by Hindutva groups. During the discussion on the issue, BJP legislator Shambhulal Chakma said no particular community should get extra benefits from public funds.
Referring to a speech of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, where he said the Assam government would close madrasa and turn them into regular schools, MLA Shambhulal Chakma said terrorists and anti-socials are produced from madrasas and not doctors or engineers. He proposed that madrasa institutions be closed in Tripura for betterment of society. His statement invited criticisms from the opposition leader and former chief minister Manik Sarkar who termed it “intimidating” saying that the approach of the government in this matter made it evident that the minorities are unsafe in the state.
Defending his statement, Chakma, later, said, “ It was not my speech. I just repeated Himanta Ji’s speech. My words were not properly represented. I repeated Himanta Ji’s speech, where he said doctors and engineers aren’t produced from madrasas. I too believe that children should become doctors and engineers instead of maulavi with public money. “
He also said that the central government had withdrawn triple talaq, abrogated Article 370 and other initiatives to strengthen and empower the minority community. We are not in favour of the total closure of madrasas. I only said that the public money, wherever it is involved, should be spent on making children engineers and doctors instead of Maulavis, “ Chakma said earlier. In 2020 and 2021, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state government would shut down madrasas and Sanskrit ‘tol’ institutions and turn them into regular schools to make sure children get modern education instead of religious lessons at the expense of public money.
Chief minister Deb received threats in 2018 from Myanmar-based drug mafia after he started an anti-drug campaign in the state.
(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)