By Firstdespatch Desk Jun 28, 2024
Agartala, Jun 28 (FD) Tripartite accord signed with the central and state governments with the Tipra Motha to find an “honourable solution” to problems faced by the state’s tribals now runs into rough weather as three months after it joined
Tripura’s BJP government, the TIPRA Motha has expressed strong dissatisfaction over the implementation of it.
The TIPRA Motha has threatened that it could contest the coming panchayat polls on its own and might reassess its tie-up with the BJP if the state government showed a negative attitude to the tribal party’s demands.
Motha Supremo and the self-styled Bubagra, Pradyot Kishore Debbarma said on Thursday that the party should prepare to go it alone in the panchayat polls and suggested the party expand its base beyond the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
“The TIPRA Motha party should prepare for the gram panchayat elections on its strength and merit. The party cannot progress if it only thinks about a limited area. Don’t be scared. I am with you. Start preparing for the election on our own strength. If we are strong, people will come,” Pradyot wrote on a social media platform.
Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl, an insurgent turned political leader in a press conference said, “ We can not abolish our identity as a regional party . We will be happier to fight the upcoming panchayat polls separately. So far, there has been no official discussion.”
He further said that the Tipra Motha is in an alliance with the ruling BJP. “If there is any specific guideline and they don’t follow it, why should we stay here? We also have a responsibility to the people of the state. We need to do our duty. And if we can’t do our duty, why should we stay here?” Hrangkhawl said.
The press conference was held after the core committee meeting of the party chaired by the party Supremo, Pradyot Kishore.
The Motha president said that Pradyot had expressed his dissatisfaction over the progress of the tripartite Tiprasa accord, which the party had touted as “historic”. The agreement focused on providing sociocultural, economic, and political rights to the indigenous population and their development. It was after the accord was signed in March that the Motha joined the state government.
The statements are seen as part of a desperate move to sustain Motha’s support base after joining the BJP-led government. The saffron party’s other alliance partner, the IPFT, was reduced from eight MLAs in the 2018 elections to a single legislator in the Assembly in 2023.
On a separate note, Motha requested the State Election Commission to conduct the TTAADC village committee polls and bypolls simultaneously with the panchayat polls supposed to be held in August.
“We submitted a memorandum to the State Election Commissioner today. The ADC has been deprived for 40 years. The ADC was neglected and the ADC people were deprived. The ADC village committee polls have been pending for two years. What is the reason? Our party filed a case in the high court and the court said in its verdict that the polls should be held immediately,” said Motha leader Mewar Kumar Jamatia. FD