Tripura Tribal Parties Press for Separate State

AGARTALA, Aug 23: The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), the junior partner of ruling BJP, on Thursday organised a public gathering to spearhead its demands for a separate state and introduction of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Tripura.

The IPFT, a tribal based party, has been agitating since 2009 for a separate state to be carved out by upgrading the TTAADC, which has jurisdiction over two-thirds of the state’s 10,491 sq km area, home to over 12,16,000 people, mostly tribals. Ruling BJP, opposition Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist led Left Front have been strongly opposing the IPFT’s statehood demand.

The IPFT, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), the state’s oldest tribal based party and few other tribal dominated parties have been demanding introduction of the NRC in Tripura and withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in July 2016 to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The IPFT leaders while addressing the gathering in tribal Kokborok language at TTAADC headquarters in Khumulwng, reiterated their demands including creation of separate state and introduction of NRC. The IPFT forged alliance with the BJP before the February 18 Assembly polls and secured eight seats in the 60-member assembly.

INPT President Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawal on Thursday separately said they would also organise a demonstration within a week in support of their 3-point demands, including introduction of the NRC in Tripura and withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. Opposing the IPFT separate state demand, the INPT has been demanding more power to the TTAADC which is a constitutional autonomous body first set up in 1982 under the seventh schedule of the constitution and later upgraded in 1985 under the sixth schedule of the constitution. (IANS)