Senior BJP, RSS leaders pay visit to Tripura CM over 'party to expand in Nepal, SL' claim

BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) top brass in Tripura paid a visit to Chief Minister Biplab Deb on Thursday, following the controversy over his comments that the party has plans to expand to Nepal and Sri Lanka. BJP's North-East zonal secretary Ajay Jamwal, and RSS's regional in-charge Ullas Kulkarni and state in-charge Nikhil Niwaskar met the Chief Minister.

Discussion over CM's controversial comments

The senior leaders discussed the comments that triggered a controversy, inviting severe backlash, a BJP source told news agency PTI. Other organisational matters were also discussed in the meeting, the source said. "Met regional General Secretary of BJP, Ajoy Jamwal Ji, Ullas Ji of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangha and Pranta Pracharak Sri Nikhil Ji," Deb tweeted.

Meanwhile, state Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath claimed that BJP is the largest political party in the world and people of many countries, including Sri Lanka and the US, are now willing to accept its ideology. Defending the Chief Minister Nath said that Biplab Deb's statement was "wrongly interpreted."

'The whole world will accept BJP's thought' 

"Our Chief Minister wanted to say that the ideology of BJP would spread in the world and people will be influenced by it. But that does not mean BJP will expand its base there. His statement was wrongly interpreted," Nath said at an event. "We feel that the whole world will accept BJP's thought. Those who are in Sri Lanka are now thinking to accept thoughts of the BJP. America is also thinking to accept. The entire world is now thinking in this line," he added.

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During a party event in Agartala, Deb had said Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his tenure as BJP president, had shared plans of expanding party's base and winning Nepal and Sri Lanka. Reacting to his comments, Sri Lanka's Election Commission Chairman Nimal Punchihewa shot down reports of the BJP planning to set up a political unit in the island nation, saying the country's electoral law does not permit such an arrangement whereas Nepal Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali on Tuesday said that his country has conveyed a "formal objection" against Biplab Kumar Deb's remarks 

A Nepali diplomat in the country's embassy in New Delhi told Kathmandu Post over the phone that Ambassador Nilamber Acharya dialled Arindam Bagchi, joint secretary in-charge of Nepal and Bhutan at India's Ministry of External Affairs, and expressed his reservations about Tripura Chief Minster's statement.

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(With PTI inputs)