The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday referred to Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb as “little Hitler” after he asked the Bharatiya Janata Party workers to uproot the “seeds of communists” from the state, reported PTI.

“We are hearing the voice of a fascist,” the CPI (M) said in a statement. “He cannot make such a statement when he is holding a constitutional post. History will not forgive this little Hitler.”

The CPI(M) also alleged that the state government was using brute force to suppress the voices of its leaders and workers. “The BJP-IPFT [Bharatiya Janata Party-Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura] government led by Deb has trampled democracy,” the CPI (M) said. “In their current regime, they launched violent attacks on our activists and leaders.”

The party also alleged that several of the party workers were murdered and offices burnt down. “False charges were framed against them [the party workers],” the CPI (M) said, adding that the police were “reluctant” to register a complaint against the offenders.

On Sunday, the chief minister had said at a party meeting in Dhalai district that uprooting the “seeds of communists” from Tripura and spreading the “message of nationalism” and ideas of Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be the priority of all BJP activists and supporters in the state. “You must ensure that all communist ideas and thinking cease to exist in Tripura by 2023,” he told the party workers. “This is your assigned task and I call upon you to perform it.”