Tripura Scheduled Caste Welfare and ARDD Minister Sudhangshu Das has warned of legal action against Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jitendra Chaudhury if the latter fails to issue a public apology by October 26 for allegedly making derogatory and defamatory remarks against him and his family.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Minister Das accused the CPIM leader of spreading false allegations to malign his image.

“The LoP seems to have forgotten that former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar had removed him from the Tribal Welfare portfolio following reports of alleged corruption. Chaudhury has questioned my income and tax records, but I have been an income tax payer since 2014 when I was working in the private sector. I resigned from my job on June 2, 2017, to join the BJP and contribute to removing the Left Front from power. It is shameful that they are dragging my mother into this, branding her anti-Sanatan Dharma. These are ideological differences, and they are targeting my family because I speak up for Sanatan Dharma,” Das said.

Das further challenged Chaudhury to substantiate his claims. “If he can prove within ten days that my brother pays more income tax than me, I will accept it and resign from my post. But if he fails to do so by October 26, he must apologize publicly. Otherwise, I will move to the High Court with a defamation case,” the minister asserted.

Recalling past allegations against Chaudhury, Das cited a claim made by CPIM youth leader Chandi Charan Tripura, who had accused the opposition leader of being involved in a ₹26 crore scam during his tenure as a minister in the previous Left Front government — a matter that had also been reported by national media.

Terming Chaudhury’s allegations “baseless and politically motivated,” Das accused the CPIM of “having a mentality similar to China and Pakistan” and described communist leaders as “habitual liars.”