Tripura CM defends remark on Net existence in Mahabharata era, gets Governor's support

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Wednesday defended his comment on existence of Internet and information technology in the Mahabharata era.

State’s Governor Tathagata Roy also came out in open to support the Chief Minister, who is leading the BJP-IPFT coalition government after defeating CPI(M) led left front from its 25 years uninterrupted governance.

Mr. Deb, while speaking at a programme on computerisation of the public distribution system (PDS) in Agartala on Tuesday said he believed Internet, technology and satellite communication existed in ancient time as derived in Mahabharata. Without them, Sanjay (who, according to mythology), was awarded divine vision by Ved Vyasa) could not have narrated details of the war of Kurukshetra to blind King Dhritarashtra.

Statement fuels controversy

The Chief Minister on Wednesday countered his critics after the statement fuelled controversy and instigated trolls on social media.

“Narrow-minded people find it tough to believe this. They want to belittle their own nation and think highly of other countries. Believe the truth. Don’t get confused and don’t confuse”, Mr. Deb tweeted.

The Governor, backing the Chief Minister, said: “Tripura Chief Minister’s observations about the happenings of the puranic period are topical. Its virtually impossible to conceive of devices like ‘Divya Drishti’, ‘Pushpak Ratha’, etc without some kind of prototype and study thereon.”