AGARTALA:
The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) chairman Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma on April 25 appealed to the ruling ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) to come together under one platform as their mandate is almost ‘similar’, which is working for the benefit of tiprasa (indigenous) people of the state.
Debbarma, who is a royal scion of the state, said he had quit Congress because he didn’t want to betray his own people, and he appealed to everyone, including IPFT, to come under one single banner.
“I want to tell IPFT that they should come and join us. Let’s form a single party. We are separate parties and our demands are the same which will not be going to help anyone. We should come together so that tiprasa people can get something. This fight is for the constitutional right of our tiprasa people,” he said.
“I also received many offers to join national parties with good positions, but I am not thinking about myself as I want to think about my tiprasa and for their development. I will not compromise. We will not go in the alliance without any written assurance of Greater Tipraland. I am sacrificing because of the next generation,” he stated.
He also shared a video on his Facebook page where he alleged that some people have hatched a conspiracy to divide the tiprasa people.
“Those who want to rule by creating a divide between the tiprasa people will not succeed. I want to tell the young generation that this is a new Tripura, we are not going to be fooled easily,” he said.
Regarding a recent programme where many indigenous people joined the BJP, Pradyot said, “Leaving ideology behind for joining that party (BJP) which doesn’t believe in Greater Tipraland is a big betrayal with your own dofa or your own people. You may not be happy with your regional parties or with their leaders but that doesn’t mean you will join the party which doesn’t believe in your ideology. This is big mistake and betrayal with your own people.”