BJP to boycott Tripura district council swearing-in ceremony citing violence
Tipra Motha won 18 of the 28 council seats that went to polls on April 6. BJP won nine seats and one seat went to an independent candidate.
Nine newly-elected Tripura district council members from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will today boycott the swearing-in ceremony of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) in protest against the post-poll violence allegedly triggered by former Congress chief Pradyot Kishore’s political party, TIPRA Motha, BJP leaders said on Sunday.
All the members of the council were scheduled to take oath on Monday at Khumulwng, headquarters of the TTAADC, and the chief executive member along with the executive members were scheduled to take oath tomorrow on April 20.
“We witnessed an unrest situation (created) by TIPRA Motha soon after the declaration of poll results. ... In the current situation, it is not possible for us to take oath and we all have decided to boycott the ceremony tomorrow”, said Bimal Kanti Chakma, a BJP leader and an elected member of the district council.
Tipra Motha won 18 of the 28 council seats that went to polls on April 6. BJP won nine seats and one seat went to an independent candidate. The remaining two seats of the 30-member council will be nominated by governor Ramesh Bais. After the poll results were declared, several incidents of violence were reported from across three districts of the state. Most of the FIRs were registered against Tipra Motha activists. All political parties deplored the violence and chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb asked the police to act against the miscreants without any fear or favour.
The BJP has now sent a letter to the governor requesting him to fix another date for their swearing-in to the council. “We will also meet the chief executive officer and administrator (of the district council) over the issue,” said Chakma.
The tribal council was formed in 1982 and includes 70% of Tripura’s geographical area and almost one-third of its population.
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