Tripura CM defends internet during Mahabharat comment, blasts critics

Chief minister Biplab Deb on Tuesday said the internet existed during the Mahabharat period, slamming “narrow minded” people for confusing others.

Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Wednesday criticised “narrow-minded people” who ridiculed his statement that internet and satellites existed during the era of the Mahabharat and India invented advanced technology “lakhs of years ago”.

Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb during his swearing-in ceremony in Agartala in March. The chief minister had the National Informatics Centre (NIC) was using advanced technology invented more than thousand years ago. (PTI)

“They want to belittle their own nation and think highly of other countries. Believe the truth. Don’t get confused and don’t confuse others,” Deb was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Deb had said on Tuesday that the 18-day war in Kurukshetra was relayed by narrator Sanjay to the blind king Dhritarashtra with the help of internet technology.

“Yeh desh wo desh hai, jisme Mahabharat mein Sanjay ne baithke Dhritarashtra ko yudh me kya ho raha tha bol raha tha. Iska matlab technology tha, internet tha, satellite tha... (This is the country where the episodes of the Mahabharat war were narrated to Dhritarashtra by Sanjay. This means technology was there, the internet was there, the satellite was there...),” Deb said in a speech.

Deb then added that technology was invented more than thousand years ago and that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) was just using it.

“I congratulate the NIC for their jobs but you people didn’t discover technology. It was discovered much earlier. Even the European countries can claim that they have invented the technology but in reality, the technology was ours. Many of our Microsoft engineers are working in the USA and other countries. My country is rich in culture,” he said.

The newly elected BJP government has declared that it plans to make Tripura a model state in the next three years.