GUWAHATI: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has got it wrong again. His latest faux pas pertains to his arithmetic.
The CM said Tripura had sealed its border as 16 COVID-19 positive cases were recorded in Assam’s Karimganj and 19 in Manipur.
“In our neighbouring Karimganj, as many as 16 COVID-19 positive cases were recorded. Nineteen cases were recorded in Manipur. That’s why we have sealed the Tripura border,” Deb told a news channel, a video of which has gone viral on social media.
The number of positive cases in Assam so far is 16 but only one of them was recorded in Karimganj. Similarly, Manipur has recorded just two cases and not 19 as the Tripura CM claimed.
The Congress in Manipur was quick to disapprove of his statement. The party advised him to be careful with his numbers.
In a tweet to him, Manipur Congress spokesperson Ningombam Bupenda Meitei wrote: “Dear Tripura CM @BjpBiplab, I advise you to be cautious while quoting numbers for other states. Such a statement from you, as the CM, may create chaos and panic to the people of India with regard to Manipur. Manipur has only 2 +ve cases, not 19 #nCoV2019 as you claim.”
Over the past two years since he donned the CM’s mantle, Deb stoked many a controversy.
In 2018, he set tongues wagging by claiming that internet and satellite existed since the time of Mahabharata and that ducks raise the level of oxygen in water bodies when they swim. He had also said that only civil engineers should sit for civil services exams as they know how to build the society. He had described beauty pageants as a “farce” stating that they are market-driven and not based on the beauty of participants.