Can deputy speaker take up media challenges — or is it just empty noise?

The ongoing clash between politics and the media has intensified in Tripura. What began as a war of words on social media has now spilled into the public domain — on paper and in print.

Recently, Deputy Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly, Ram Prasad Paul, made a post from his Facebook page. In that post he wrote: “দিনের আলোতে পত্রিকা বিক্রেতা বা বুদ্ধিজীবী, আর অন্ধকারে ‘মাফিয়া গ্রুপ' । বিদ্যার দোহাই দিয়ে ঠিকাদারদের কাছ থেকে কোটি কোটি টাকার কমিশন নেওয়া - বাণিজ্যের এই ত্রিশ দশকের সংস্কৃতি আর কতদিন চলবে ? কিছু অসৎ ঠিকাদারেরই শুধু আনন্দ আর সুবিধা। সূর্যমনিনগর বিধানসভায় দুর্নীতিগ্রস্ত ঠিকাদারদের আর কোনো স্থান দেওয়া হবে না।“ (“In broad daylight they are newspaper vendors or intellectuals, but in darkness they turn into the Mafia-group — using their skills to extort lakhs and crores in commission from contractors. How long will this three-decade-old culture continue? Some dishonest contractors are enjoying themselves.” Corrupt contractors will not get any space in Suryamanigar assembly constituency.”)

(The report carries the Deputy Speaker’s quote word for word, including the grammatical distortions present in the original posted.)

In response, on December 11, the leading morning daily of Tripura ‘Aajker Fariad’ published a strong editorial titled “To the Hon’ble Deputy Speaker.”

In this sharply worded editorial, the writer directly challenged Deputy Speaker Ram Prasad Paul. The editorial asked whether the Deputy Speaker could prove the allegations he made against a journalist regarding involvement in a commission racket worth lakhs and crores in the state’s contract work.

It further asked whether he could ensure that this “mafia journalist,” as claimed by him, was jailed for siphoning off huge sums.

The editorial raised several significant questions. As a legislator and the Deputy Speaker — a constitutional authority holding immense power — why has he not taken legal action if he indeed possesses such serious information about corruption by a “newspaper vendor”? Why hasn’t he involved the Police, ED, or CBI?

In the current political environment, he has both administrative and political strength at his disposal.

If the allegations are true and supported by evidence, why did the Deputy Speaker refrain from taking legal steps and instead chose to demonstrate “heroics” on social media?

This central question is now circulating widely among the public.

The editorial also stated, “If the allegations against the journalist are proved, the said journalist will be expelled from the profession.”

However, nearly 12 hours after this editorial was published (as of the time of writing), the Deputy Speaker has not taken any legal steps whatsoever against the newspaper vendor he accused.

For many, this inaction appears both embarrassing and absurd on the Deputy Speaker’s part.

This has led to a larger public question:

Are the allegations made by the Deputy Speaker false?

Are these claims merely the “prologue” to a script driven by personal vendetta?

Interestingly, the Deputy Speaker posted again from his verified Facebook page the next morning, seemingly offering a “conclusion” to the controversy himself. He wrote: “আজকের ফরিয়াদের মুখ্যসম্পাদকীয় লেখার পরিপেক্ষিতে প্রশ্ন হচ্ছে ঠাকুর ঘরে কে...রে ? আমি কলা খাই না "। তার অর্থ কি সকলেই জানে, অর্থাৎ 'পাছে লোকে কিছু বলে এখন হাসি পাচ্ছে উনি সাংবিধানিক ব্যাখ্যা লাগিয়ে বলে দিচ্ছে ভূতের মুখে রাম নাম"

(“In relation to Aajker Fariad’s editorial, the question now is — who is in the shrine? I don’t eat bananas. Everyone knows what that means… ‘Before people say anything,’ now it feels funny. With constitutional reasoning I have said — it’s like a ghost chanting the Lord’s name.”)

(This post too is quoted exactly from his Facebook page)

Political observers argue that this final Facebook post by the Deputy Speaker indicates he has no factual evidence to support his allegations against the editor or the newspaper vendor. Thus, he chose to wrap up the controversy with a vague post — implying the entire matter may simply be an empty noise in the Maidan.