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Ahead of 2023 assembly polls, Tripura’s indigenous parties join hands on statehood demand
Engaging a number of youth in the statehood demand movement, the IPFT led by NC Debbarma did a series of protests in the state and New Delhi for a few years. Their movement attracted BJP’s attention and then they jointly contested the assembly polls in 2018 to defeat the two-decade old Left government.
With two years left for Tripura to go for assembly polls, the regional indigenous-based political parties including ruling BJP’s alliance partner Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) and royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarma’s party TIPRA Motha have come together on a common platform to press for their demand of statehood.
A total of eight different indigenous organisations decided to constitute a joint movement committee to press for their demands of separate statehood and other issues following a four-hour-long discussion in Agartala on Saturday.
“We will soon have a committee, a joint movement committee for our demands of Tipraland/Greater Tipraland in the next 2-3 days. We are also planning to go to Delhi this month to submit a memorandum regarding our demands to the Centre,” said Tribal Welfare Minister Mewar Kumar Jamatia, also general secretary of IPFT.
The IPFT was formed in 1997 but faded away in 2001. Later, NC Debbarma, who is now president of the party, revived it in 2009 keeping the separate statehood demand of Tipraland as the main agenda. Engaging a number of youth in the statehood demand movement, the IPFT led by NC Debbarma did a series of protests in the state and New Delhi for a few years. Their movement attracted BJP’s attention and then they jointly contested the assembly polls in 2018 to defeat the two-decade old Left government. In the 60-seater Assembly, the IPFT has eight MLAs. One IPFT legislator later offered to tender his resignation.
The schedule of IPFT’s visit to Delhi is yet to be fixed; however, the TIPRA Motha is slated to leave the state for Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on October 23 to raise their voice in support of their Greater Tipraland demand.
“It is a pre-scheduled programme. Over one thousand people will join us in our three-day long programme at Jantar Mantar,” said Pradyot.
He added that he had requested the IPFT to extend their support to his Greater Tipraland demand and also wished to speak in one voice whenever they get to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah.
“Both demands of Tipraland and Greater Tipraland are almost similar. I have requested the IPFT to support the Greater Tipraland demand. I have always supported their demand for Tipraland. If they support our demand, then we can speak in one voice in Delhi,” he said.
After resigning from the Congress in 2019, Pradyot had floated his own political party TIPRA Motha this year. His party contested the district council polls keeping the agenda of forming Greater Tipraland by including indigenous population living outside TTAADC in Tripura and other Indian states like, Assam, Mizoram and some parts of neighbouring country Bangladesh.
