Tipra Motha chief pitches for Tiprasa CM in Tripura, targets clean sweep in tribal council polls

Agartala, Oct 13 (PTI) Tipra Motha Party (TMP) supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma on Monday set an ambitious target of ensuring a Tiprasa Chief Minister in Tripura, calling on party workers to work towards a clean sweep in the upcoming autonomous district council and village committee elections.

Tripura last had a tribal chief minister — Dasharath Deb — who served from 1993 to 1998 during the Left Front regime.

Addressing a mega joining programme at Rabindra Bhavan here, Debbarma claimed that national parties are not committed to addressing the concerns of indigenous communities.

"National parties talk about GST, temples and many other issues, but there is no space to speak up for Tiprasa rights. That is why I left the Congress. If I had been allowed to raise our issues, I wouldn’t have quit," he said.

Debbarma criticised the delay in holding village committee elections in Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas, noting that polls have not been conducted in nine years, despite directions from the high court.

"The elections were not held during the tenures of two chief ministers — Manik Sarkar and Biplab Kumar Deb. I have now approached the Supreme Court and hope for justice," he said.

Debbarma also expressed dismay over the delay in clearing 38 bills passed by the tribal council.

"Only one of the 39 bills — the Jamatia Customary Law — has been cleared in the last 15 years. The rest remain pending with the state government. I’ve filed a case in the Supreme Court to expedite the matter," he added.

The TMP chief announced the party will try to keep the national parties out of the TTAADC.

Debbarma declared that his party aims to keep national parties like the BJP, Congress and CPI(M) out of the TTAADC by contesting all 28 seats in the upcoming general and Village Committee elections, scheduled early next year.

"We must win all the seats to ensure land rights and uplift for Tiprasa people. Only then can we dream of having a Tiprasa Chief Minister in the state," he added.

Earlier, Debbarma welcomed 1,223 new voters from 330 families into the party fold at the event. PTI PS MNB