Tripura BJP MLA Ashis Das gets `mundan` done as `prayaschit` before joining TMC

Das said he was doing `prayaschit` or repentance for his association with the BJP all these years.

Kolkata: BJP MLA from Tripura’s Surma Ashis Das on Tuesday (October 5) reached Kolkata to join Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, but not before performing an elaborate purification ritual to cleanse himself.

Das performed ‘hawan’ and got his head shaved following the holy practice of ‘mundan’. He then took a holy dip in Adi Ganga at Kalighat.

He said he was doing ‘prayaschit’ or repentance for his association with the BJP all these years. He said by performing hawan and taking the holy dip, he will be able to cleanse himself before joining the TMC.

Amid dissidence by a section of BJP MLAs and leaders in Tripura, Das on Monday praised Mamata Banerjee and congratulated her on Bhabanipur win by a record margin.

The BJP MLA said that many people and organisations want Banerjee as the Prime Minister and her elevation to the post is very crucial as she is a Bengali.

He went on to slam Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “selling most government properties to private parties”.

“Once Modi’s messages stirred the minds of people of all sections across the country. Modi had once said that ‘Na khaunga, na khane dunga’, but now it has become a popular jumla (joke) in the country,” he said.

He added that at the Centre and the states, the BJP has been running governments in an "autocratic style".