Tripura BJP MP calls IPFT-TIPRA alliance "unethical"; hits out at Pradyot
By Tanmoy Chakraborty | AGARTALA:
With the election to the Autonomous District Council (ADC) in Tripura just round the corner, the battle for dominance in the district council is gaining momentum with rallies and campaigns becoming the order of the day.
The recent decision of the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), an ally of the ruling BJP, to forge alliance with The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) has tipped the scale of balance in favour of the regional parties, and the same did not go down well with the saffron party.
In an exclusive interview with TNT-The Northeast Today, BJP MP and Janjati Morcha President, Rebati Tripura lambasted the IPFT for keeping the party in the dark about its move to forge alliance with TIPRA.
“It is not right to (forge alliance with other parties) when they have an alliance with us,” he said while terming the move as “unjust and unethical”.
He informed that IPFT Supremo NC Debbarma failed to attend the meeting which was supposed to be held at the residence of Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Debbarma recently.
The party leader who attended the meeting was IPFT Assistant General Secretary Mangal Debbarma, who could not provide an answer to the questions raised by BJP leaders, he informed.
The IPFT had demanded 22 seats in the ADC elections, which the BJP leaders are unwilling to agree.
“As the BJP Janajati Morcha President of Tripura, I can declare that they will not be given 22 seats for the upcoming ADC election,” the BJP MP asserted.
Rebati hits out at royal scion Pradyot Kishore Deb Barman
Without mentioning his name, Rebati Tripura said the words of the “gentleman”, who is TIPRA supremo (Pradyot), has "no value".
“In 2019, he said that only the national party can solve the problems of the tribals. Now he says only the regional parties can solve the problem of the tribals. What can I say about a person who changes his words frequently? Besides, he has said many times that he will not join politics anymore. Now he is back,” Tripura said.
Launching a scathing attack on the regional alliance, the BJP MP said, “The merger of these two groups is actually an opportunistic alliance. They have formed alliances countless times, (but) they never lasted. This is nothing new."
“They are trying to create division among the communities. They speak about ‘Tiprasa’, but according to Rajmala (Historical book of Tripura), ‘Tiprasa’ talks about only five races. What will happen to the people of the remaining 13-14 communities who live in Tripura?”
Questioning the royal scion and TIPRA Chairman’s understanding of ‘Greater Tipraland’, the BJP leader said, “Pradyot Babu himself does not understand what is ‘Greater Tipraland’? He sometimes speaks about Bangladesh, sometimes of Assam, Mizoram or Manipur. He also said that Myanmar should be included. It is unrealistic; it will never succeed. It's crazy delirium."
Tripura further called Pradyot a “liar”, stating that during the last Lok Sabha elections, he said he would build a palace in Raisabari; “but he was not seen after the Lok Sabha elections. He speaks like a baby boy,” he added.
When asked whether the IPFT's decision will impact the BJP-IPFT alliance in the government, he said IPFT will be forced to admit their “historic” mistake of tying up with TIPRA.
“We are not forcing anyone to stay or leave the alliance. We are responsible to the people. We had a pre-electoral alliance with them. People voted for our alliance. That's why we had called them in a meeting to discuss this. But they avoided it,” Rebati Tripura added.
Recently, the BJP tribal MLAs have expressed their unwillingness to forge alliance with IPFT for the upcoming polls. “We have discussed (among) ourselves regarding this and we have given our opinion to the party,” he said.
Exuding confidence in taking over power in the ADC, Tripura said, the BJP is now united in the hills, adding that the formation of the regional alliance is not a threat to the ruling party.
“Our government has worked for the people during Corona times. This government has done a lot in (the) last three years. We have officially welcomed and honoured 19 communities. Work is underway to provide allowances to the community chief and the Customary Laws of different communities. The Fifteenth Finance Commission is giving money directly to the Village Committees of the ADC. We are constantly working for people. People want development, not division,” Tripura said.
(Edited by Iban Mawrie)
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