On Tuesday morning, in a series of tweets in Hindi, The Chief Minister sought forgiveness for his remarks and said of his friends were Punjabis and Jats, and he is proud of people hailing from the two communities.

 

“I had expressed thoughts about my Punjabi and Jat brothers at an event in Agartala Press Club recently. I didn’t intend to hurt any community. I am proud of both Punjabi and Jat communities. I myself have spent a lot of time with them,” Deb tweeted.

 

“Many of my close friends are from these communities. If my statement has hurt anyone’s sentiments, I personally seek apology for that,” he further tweeted as a sign of atonement.

 

Earlier in an event of the Tripura Electronic Media Society, while addressing the programme Biplab Deb appallingly said the Punjabis and Haryanvis are physically strong but are 'less brainy' and can be defeated by using intelligence.

 

"If you talk about people of Punjab, the Punjabi Sardar is not afraid of anyone. They have less intelligence but physically they are very strong. You cannot defeat them by strength, but with the help of the brain. In Haryana, lots of people from the Jat community are there. They also have limited brains but are physically well built. Now, speaking about Bengal and Bengalis, it is said that in this world Bengalis are known for wit. Nobody can beat the wit and the brain of a Bengali," the CM said.

 

After the video clip went viral on social media,   National media houses to the leaders of different opposition parties blasted him on different platforms the CM finally apologized on Tuesday and said he bears tremendous honours for all the cultures and values the unity, diversity of India. Congress leader and National spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala calling Tripura CM's statement as 'Shameful and unfortunate' called for his apology and strict action against him.