Tipra Motha Chief Threatens Agitation Against BJP Over Tribal Rights

Pradyot Deb Barma said that he has decided to step down as the TMP chief (File)

Guwahati:

The Tipra Motha Party (TMP), Tripura’s main opposition party which governs the key Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), has threatened to launch an agitation if the ruling BJP in the state continues to deprive the autonomous body and does not hold elections to the village councils.

The party will continue to fight for its core demand of a “Greater Tipra Land” for the tribals who are deprived of basic amenities like education and health, TMP chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma said.

“Several elections, including the Assembly polls, are being held in Tripura, but the BJP does not want to conduct the village council elections in the TTAADC areas. Not holding these elections has severely affected the developmental and welfare works in these areas,” Mr Deb Barman said, announcing that he has decided to step down as the TMP chairperson and instead work as a ‘warrior’ for the party.

The elections to the village councils – which are equivalent to gram panchayat polls – were earlier scheduled for March 2021. However, they were delayed despite clear directions from the Tripura High Court.

“The BJP has been trying to employ the ‘divide-and-rule policy’ in Tripura, while it has been demanding the imposition of President’s Rule in Bengal. But why has the President’s Rule not been imposed in Manipur where over 140 people have died and several more have been injured in ethnic clashes?” the TMP leader asked.

The violence that is happening in Manipur will never be allowed in Tripura, Mr Deb Barma warned, emphasizing his party will not allow the state’s unity to be undermined over language, dialect, or religion.