India, April 15 -- Tripura Forest Minister Animesh Debbarma has filed a defamation suit against Tipra Motha Party MLA Ranjit Debbarma for allegedly making "false and derogatory" remarks against him, a senior lawyer said on Tuesday.

The petition was moved before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court, West Tripura, the minister's counsel said. Both the minister and the legislator belong to the Tipra Motha Party.

In the petition, the forest minister claimed that Ranjit Debbarma, during the campaigns for the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections, had made "derogatory remarks" against him.

The party MLA alleged that Animesh Debbarma had purchased "two flats and a plot" and "talks were going on to buy a flat...