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Agartala, Oct 16 (IANS) The ruling BJP on Thursday strongly criticized its junior ally Tipra Motha Party (TMP) for accusing the saffron party of doing nothing for the welfare of tribals and making undemocratic remarks against Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha.
BJP’s Tripura state vice president Bimal Chakma, party general secretary Bipin Debbarma and youth leader Sanjit Reang jointly said that TMP leaders are distorting the history of Tripura to score electoral gains ahead of the crucial Tripura Tribal Area Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections early next year.
Highlighting the BJP government’s efforts to recognize the importance of tribals, Chakma said the Centre, following a proposal by the state government, renamed the Agartala airport after the then king Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur (1923-1947) and declared his birthday, August 19, as a government holiday.
Senior tribal leader Chakma told the media, “Former Tripura Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Verma is an experienced tribal leader from Tripura and has now been appointed as the Governor of Telangana. President Draupadi Murmu and many BJP chief ministers are from the tribal community.”
He said that the Tripura government has recognized the importance of tribal community leaders (Samajapatis) and given them due respect and recognition.
Recently, the BJP government increased the monthly honorarium for tribal community leaders to woo the sentiments of the tribals.
“In an important decision of the state cabinet, the monthly honorarium for tribal community leaders (Samajpatis) has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000. This decision reflects the government’s commitment to honor the invaluable role and social contribution of Samajpatis in the tribal communities,” Chief Minister Manik Saha said in a post on Twitter.
BJP state vice president Chakma claimed that TMP leaders made derogatory comments targeting CM Saha like calling him “Bengali Chief Minister” and “Bangladeshi Chief Minister”.
“TMP leaders also announced that no national party will be allowed to enter TTAADC areas. We have seen caste riots in Tripura in 1980,” he said, questioning whether a conspiracy was being hatched to incite enmity between tribals and non-tribals.
BJP general secretary Bipin Debbarma said the TMP leaders were not only insulting the chief minister but also distorting the history of Tripura. The ‘sour-sweet relationship’ continues between the ruling BJP and its ally TMP in Tripura.
On October 15, TMP supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, while addressing a party gathering at Karbuk in Gomati district of southern Tripura, once again threatened to quit the BJP-led coalition government in Tripura if the ‘Tiprasa’ (indigenous tribal) people were not given their rights.
Debbarma and her party leaders had earlier also threatened to break the alliance with BJP. In recent months, clashes broke out between workers of the two parties, leaving more than 15 BJP members injured in separate incidents.
Ahead of the TTAADC elections early next year, both the BJP and TMP are working separately to expand their base among tribals.
Recently, in a series of meetings, several hundred TMP members and supporters joined the BJP in the presence of senior party leaders, including Chief Minister Manik Saha. Since 2021, the TMP has been ruling the 30-member TTAADC, which covers two-thirds of Tripura’s 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12.16 lakh people, about 84 per cent of whom are tribals.
The TMP is agitating for their immediate deportation, accusing the BJP government in Tripura of failing to act against illegal infiltrators. The party has also called for a 12-hour bandh in the state on October 23 to press for the fulfillment of eight key demands, including identification and deportation of illegal immigrants in Tripura in compliance with the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Meanwhile, the TMP delegation led by Debbarma met the Chief Election Commissioner, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister and BJP president JP Nadda in Delhi in July and August and urged for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Tripura’s voter list, similar to the process being done in Bihar.
The TMP also held a demonstration in Delhi on September 9 to press for its three-point demands: implementation of the tripartite agreement, deportation of illegal immigrants from Tripura and protection of indigenous rights.
The party is demanding a separate state for tribals, “Greater Tipraland”, under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution, and early holding of long-pending village committee elections within the TTAADC areas.
After year-long deliberations and the signing of a tripartite agreement with the Center and the Tripura government on March 2 last year, the then opposition TMP, with 13 MLAs, joined the BJP-led coalition government in the state on March 7, 2024, marking a new twist in Tripura’s political landscape.
Two TMP MLAs, Animesh Debbarma and Brishketu Debbarma, were inducted into the ministry led by Chief Minister Manik Saha.
–IANS
SC/And