Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha rules out supporting ‘Greater Tipraland’

By  Firstdespatch Desk   Mar 09, 2023

Agartala, March 09 (FD): A day after royal scion and chairman of the of the Tipra Motha met Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the constitutional solutions of the tribals of the state Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Thursday ruled out any possibility of supporting the of separate ‘Greater Tipraland’

“The BJP-led government will never support demand like ‘Tipraland’ or ‘Greater Tipraland’“We had discussion on tribal welfare on how to uplift the socio-economic condition of the indigenous people. This is the priority of our government and we see their problems from humanitarian angle”, Saha told reporters at the civil secretariat here.

The Tipra Motha, a regional party banking on the ‘Greater Tipraland’ demand contested the 2023 Assembly elections and emerged as the second largest party by winning 13 seats in the 60-member Tripura Assembly.

Soon after the meeting with Union Home Minister and BJP national president JP Nadda, the Tipra Motha supremo claimed that the Central government will officially appoint an interlocutor to look into the problems of indigenous people for taking corrective measures.

“There was no decision of appointing an interlocutor in the meeting but there will be discussion on the tribal welfare”, Saha said.

The chief minister reiterated that tribal welfare will be a priority sector for the BJP-IPFT government.

Saha said the BJP-IPFT government will work on the vision document unveiled by the party’s national president before the 2023 Assembly elections.

Asked about the party’s prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the chief minister claimed the BJP will perform better not only in Tripura but also in the entire Northeast.

On post-poll violence, the chief minister said “Some reports are coming to my knowledge. A vested interest group is trying to create trouble. I have asked the DGP to handle the situation firmly”. FD JK