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Tripura royal scion asks people to unite against CAA
Pradhan Deb Burman was speaking at a massive rally at Khumulwung, the headquarters of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
Former Congress leader and Tripura’s royal scion, Pradyot Kishore Deb Burman, on Saturday appealed to all sections—tribals and non-tribals—of the northeastern state to come together against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Deb Burman was speaking at a massive rally at Khumulwung, the headquarters of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), called by his newly-floated The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA).
He also shouted the slogan ‘Puila Jati Ulo Jati’ (community is first and community is the end in Kokborok) and said anyone living in Tripura is a ‘Tiprasa’ as he asked people to jointly protest against citizenship act.
“We will continue our struggle against CAA until the end. I appeal to all people to continue the struggle peacefully and don’t treat the non-indigenous as enemies. The non-indigenous didn’t pass the CAA,” he said.
Appealing to the ‘Tiprasa’ or the tribals to maintain unity and solidarity with non-tribals, the royal scion said Bengalis are not the enemies of tribal communities.
He also criticised the ruling and opposition parties, without naming any, and said politics has been dividing the people of the state for many years.
“Your enemies are people who got elected with your vote, went to Delhi and sold themselves… Those who enacted this act (CAA). Tribals and non-tribals have to unite and build a unified struggle against CAA,” he told the gathering at Dasharampara village.
Deb Burman, the successor of the long line of Manikya kings who ruled Tripura till its merger with the Indian Union in 1949, said the state has played its part in accommodating refugees and immigrants since they settled in large numbers from erstwhile East Pakistan.
On CAA, which he challenged in the Supreme Court last year, he said the Centre might choose to settle people from Bangladesh or other countries in India, but it would have to do without Tripura in the scope of resettlement.
“Tripura has already done its part of welcoming migrants. If the government wants to settle more now, let them take these people to Gujarat, Maharashtra or Rajasthan. We can’t bear any more burden,” he said.
Later, he also criticised opposition leader Manik Sarkar for remaining silent regarding CAA in the state even though his party is protesting against it in New Delhi and also Congress for opposing National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Deb Burman floated TIPRA, an apolitical forum or organisation to work for the rights of the indigenous people, almost three months after resigning from the Congress.
Almost all the indigenous-based political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) alliance partner Indigenous Peoples’ Front of Tripura (IPFT), took part in the rally.
The IPFT has started an indefinite sit-in-demonstration opposing the new citizenship act from January 6. The Joint Movement Against Citizenship Amendment Act (JMACAA), comprising a few regional-based indigenous political parties and social organisations, had demonstrated at Agartala on January 7.
