AGARTALA, February 5 (TIWN): Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) today staged a protest across the capital city Agartala against the BJP vision document for the Delhi elections calling the people of the North Eastern region as “immigrants”, Congress with various wings and groups burning effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanding an unconditional apology from the saffron party. The congress today reacted by stating that the BJP had once again exposed its intellectual poverty about the Northeast and has once again exposed its real faces behind the mask.Talking to the media persons today during the press conference at Agartala Congress Bhawan, Senior congress leader Harekrishna Bhowmik condemned BJP’s recent vision document calling the people of the North Eastern region as “immigrants” said that the BJP has once again exposed its “negative” attitude towards the people of the NE region.

Talking to TIWN today on this issue, BJP State President Sudhindra DasGupta has expressed regret and offered an explanation in the wake of angry reactions here in the state to the "North East immigrants" gaffe by the BJP in its vision document. He said “it was mistakenly printed and such words  are unacceptable, already BJP leaders at Delhi have withdrawn the word “North Eastern immigrants”, therefore there is no use of making the water dirty here”.

 “We vehemently condemn the BJP for making such a gross irresponsible statement. This has hurt all of us, and proved that the promise for bringing about a law to protect people of the Northeast in other parts of the country was only crocodile’s tears”, said Bhowmik.

The CPI (M) today has also attacked the BJP for describing people from the northeast living in Delhi as “immigrants”.

Congress Press Meet at Agartala Congress Bhavan. TIWN Pic Feb 5

“ The BJP govt. at the center had done more development in the Northeast since he took over than previous governments did in the past 60 years”, said Das Gupta talking to TIWN.

The Congress took out a protest rally with banners and placards to the streets of the capital city raising protests against the BJP. Later the congress supporters raising their protests have burned the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in front of Congress Bhawan.

TPCC stages rally in protest against BJP gaffe of 'immigrants'" word  for northeasterners in BJP manifesto. TIWN Pic Feb 5

However but it is mentionable here that a day after the BJP drew flak over a “typographical error” of referring to people from the North East as “immigrants” in its Vision Document, Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended his party and decried attempts to rake up the issue for political mileage.