Sparking a fresh row, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has said Home Minister Amit Shah, as party's national president, had once shared plans for expansion of Bharatiya Janata Party's base in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

While addressing the party workers at Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan in Agartala, Deb on Saturday said Shah had a plan of expanding the party base in Nepal and Sri Lanka and win there too.

"We were talking at state guest house in Agartala when Ajay Jamwal, BJP's in-charge of North-East, said that in most of the states BJP is in power. In reply, Amit Shah said that Nepal and Sri Lanka are still left. We need to win there as well," Deb said jokingly during his speech.

BJP Tripura unit spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said, "The chief minister was quoted out of context and not correctly reported in the remarks which were published in different media. It seems the meaning was changed from what Deb intended to mean".

Bhattacharya said, "We think the Indian culture is synonymous with the Hindu culture and with expansion of our culture in different parts of the world, peace can be established. So, we are trying to spread our ideology in different countries".

Tripura's veteran leader of the opposition Congress party and its state unit Vice President Tapas De said, "Both Nepal and Sri Lanka are sovereign countries. Our country or any party should not interfere in other countries' internal affairs."

Deb is known for making controversial remarks. In 2018, he had kicked up a storm by saying, "India has been using the internet for ages.

"In Mahabharata time, Sanjay narrated what was happening on the battlefield to Dhritarashtra without being present in the battlefield. This was due to the internet and technology. The satellite also existed at that time."