Agartala: An allegation of defalcation of donated gold ornaments at Tripura Sundari Temple against principal opposition CPI(M) raised by former Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb stirred a war of words between the political rivals.
On April 10, former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb who happens to be the Lok Sabha MP from West Tripura claimed that when the donation box of the Tripura Sundari Temple was opened as per the annual custom in 2018, several ornaments were found to be gold plated.
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Accusing the CPI(M) Party of misappropriation of the gold ornaments from the temple’s donation, Deb alleged that it was the then-ruling party that replaced the original gold ornaments with gold-plated jewelry.
According to Deb, in order to put a full stop to the ongoing corrupt practices in the revered shrine, he constituted a temple trust under the stewardship of the Chief Minister.
“No force in the world can ever bring CPI(M) back to power in Tripura. They no longer hold any credibility to seek votes because of their past misdeeds,” Deb told a gathering at Bamutia during a local Kali temple consecration ceremony.
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Dev’s remarks prompted a strong response from the CPI(M), which had ruled the state continuously for 25 years. Senior CPI(M) leader Ratan Bhowmik reminded Deb that politicians had stayed out of temple affairs before the BJP took power, and until 2018, the District Magistrate of Gomati had managed all temple-related matters.
CPI(M) Tripura State Secretariat also issued a statement threatening to take institute legal action against Deb.
Referring to a news article dated April 11, 2025, published by a vernacular daily “Ajker Fariyad”, the CPI(M) party condemned the statement of Biplab Kumar Deb.
The party in its statement described the statement as “false and defamatory” in nature.
The party also threatened to take legal action against Deb for such “slanderous” statements without any proof.
Giving a seven-day ultimatum, the CPI(M) state secretariat body has demanded substantive proof from Deb to justify his claims on the failure of which he should withdraw his comments publicly otherwise legal action might follow.