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Biplab Kumar Deb slips again; says Rabindranath Tagore returned Nobel Prize after Jallianwala Bagh massacre

Addressing A Public Gathering On Wednesday, The 46-year-old Chief Minister Said Famous Indian Poet Rabindranath Tagore Refused The Nobel Prize In Protest Against The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Which Took Place On 13 April 1919.

News Nation Bureau | Edited By : Nabanita Chakorborty | Updated on: 11 May 2018, 01:53:27 PM
Tagore returned Nobel after Jallianwala Bagh massacre: Biplab Deb (File Photo)

New Delhi:

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who kicked up a storm by his several contentious remarks in recent past, landed himself in a fresh controversy yet again on Wednesday.

Addressing a public gathering on Wednesday, the 46-year-old chief minister said famous Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore refused the Nobel Prize in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which took place on 13 April 1919.

"Besides being a world-famous poet, Rabindranath Tagore is also known for rejecting the Nobel Prize in protest against the British government," Deb was quoted.

Mr Deb was speaking at the inauguration of the three-day-long Rajarshi festival at the Bhubaneswari temple in Udaipur and the video of him making such disputable remark has gone viral on social networking sites.

In reality, the Nobel Prize for Tagore's remarkable contribution to literature, was with him till the last day of his life - August 7, 1941. The Nobel laureate had denied the knighthood conferred on him by the British after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

"Tagore enjoyed an intimate relationship with the state’s royal family. His works bagged worldwide praise. So, I appeal to all that we follow his ideals and thoughts to make our state the greatest in the country," the chief minister added.

Also Read | Why seek jobs, breed a cow and have Rs 10 lakh in bank balance: Tripura CM Biplab Deb

Meanwhile, the opposition did not take much time to make fun of Deb's remark and criticised him for not doing the 'basic homework' before addressing his audience.

"Our chief minister has crossed every limit of idiocy. We even don’t feel like commenting on the issue," Communist Party of India (Marxist) central committee leader Goutam Das said.

"It's a request from our side that he (Deb) do a deep study on subjects he would like to speak on before an audience. Confusing the knighthood with the Nobel Prize is not expected of a chief minister," said Tapas Dey, vice-president of the party’s state unit.

The Congress described Deb's statement as 'unfortunate'.

This is the fifth time that Mr Deb invited such controversies since he has been elected as the chief minister of Tripura two months ago.

Also Read | Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb allocates portfolios of all nine minister, sworn-in on Saturday

He was in the headlines for his 'out of the ordinary' views on various subjects like - Internet during the Mahabharata war, 1994 Miss World Diana Hayden can be considered as an 'Indian beauty', the questionability of mechanical engineers joining the civil services, and raising cattle instead of seeking government jobs - over the last few weeks.

It's been a while now that Biplab Deb's slip-ups have become a daily embarrassment for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

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First Published : 11 May 2018, 01:05:15 PM

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