Four student and youth organisations on Wednesday lodged a First Information Report (FIR) at the West Agartala Police Station against MLA Tofajjal Hossain, alleging that he made derogatory and communally provocative remarks targeting the indigenous tribal community during an election campaign.

Representatives of the Tripura Youth Association (TYA), Students' Federation of India (SFI), Tribal Students' Union (TSU) and Tripura Youth Federation (TYF) jointly filed the complaint, demanding legal action against the legislator.

While, Tipra-Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma also strong the condemned the remarks made by BJP MLA Tofajjal Hossain ad demand his apology. “Whether it is this MLA or you tuber Amir Shokeen there is no difference towards their attitude towards us . We are tiprasa and our eating habits don’t change with who is in power . This man should apologise for his statement and inciting communal hatred . Those who smuggle cows to Bangladesh should not preach us what we eat in Tripura,” said Pradyot in a Facebook post.

Addressing the media after filing the FIR, TYF Central Committee General Secretary Kamal Debbarma alleged that since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power at the Centre in 2014 and in Tripura in 2018, politics based on caste, tribe and religion has intensified. He claimed that attempts are being made to create unrest in the state through inflammatory communal rhetoric due to fears of losing public support.

Debbarma said that such comments were unacceptable from an elected representative and urged the authorities to take appropriate legal action against the MLA. The organisations also demanded his immediate arrest.

The organisations further stated that the matter has already been brought to the notice of the Leader of the Opposition. However, no formal complaint has yet been submitted to the Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly. They said the issue would be raised before the Speaker, if necessary, in the coming days.

The four student and youth organisations have called for a fair and impartial investigation into the allegations and urged the authorities to take action against the MLA in accordance with the law.