AGARTALA:
The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) kicked off its poll campaign for the Tripura Assembly elections slated for February 2023 with a mammoth public rally at Swami Vivekananda Maidan, Agartala, on March 12.
Addressing the gathering, TIPRA chairperson, Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, announced that the party will fight in 35 seats out of 60 Assembly seats in the upcoming polls.
“For the last 72 years, Tiprasa people have been deprived. The MLAs and ministers came to power with our help, yet have done nothing for us. I don’t want money or power, I want thansa (unity) for our movement. They (political leaders) will come with money to break our unity, which will be a wrong move on their part,” he said, adding that if constitutional rights of the indigenous people are not given to them in “black and white”, instead of 20 seats reserved for the STs, TIPRA will fight in 35 seats out of 60 in the 2023 elections.
Apart from thousands of supporters of TIPRA, a sizable non-tribal population along with the minority communities also attended the rally.
“Such programmes are happening in Agartala after six years today. This is for the constitutional right of our indigenous people and our movement, ‘Greater Tipraland’,” he added.
The rally comes in the heels of the party recently winning the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) poll and Debbarma claimed that all 19 tribes of Tripura participated in the rally.
Criticising the Community Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for misinterpreting the concept of “Greater Tipraland”, Debbarma said, “Many people are floating misinformation that if TIPRA comes to power, it would cause unrest in TTAADC.”
In an apparent message to the Centre, he said that if the Central government can hold talks with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland – Isak Muivah (NSCN – IM), they can -do the same with TIPRA. “We reached here with public support. We are passionate about ‘Greater Tipraland’. We are ready to talk with them (Centre) if they invite us,” Debbarma added.