‘Keep patience’: Himanta Sarma meets TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Debbarma

Assam chief minister and North East Democratic Alliance ( NEDA) chairperson Himanta Biswa Sarma advised TIPRA Motha, the main opposition party in Tripura, to keep patience and trust and confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to resolve the tribal problems.

“Government of India has a roadmap. We all know how much love and affection PM has for the northeast. We also know how Amit Shahji is resolving all the problems. Problems of Tripura tribals are also in his agenda. I have told the TIPRA Motha to have patience and keep trust and confidence in the Prime Minister and the home minister. All the problems will be resolved amicably,” Sarma told media persons after a meeting with the TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Kishore Debbarma in Guwahati on Friday.

“We thank the government of India and we will be patient as we understand that problems which are decades-long cannot be solved overnight! We will also continue to observe and fight for our indigenous people till we don’t get a solution,” Debbarma wrote on his Twitter.

A day after leaving for Guwahati to meet Sarma, Debbarma expressed satisfaction on Thursday night with the discussion on resolving different issues of the tribal population.

In a late evening tweet on Thursday, he said, “Thank you @himantabiswa for your assurance and statement today. We are keen to resolve the indigenous peoples issues and we are glad the process has been initiated in a time bound manner. I also thank the home minister @AmitShah who has taken the time and effort to address the problems of our tiprasa people. The tiprasa are united (thansa) for a better future and I am willing to sacrifice everything for our people”.

The TIPRA Motha currently holds the tag of main opposition party after bagging 13 seats in the recently concluded Assembly polls.

Debbarma’s party leaders, who accompanied him to Guwahati , returned to Agartala and said that they were highly satisfied with the discussions on the Greater Tipraland and Constitutional solution for the tribals.

“Many of our MLAs joined the discussion in Guwahati. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma explained to us how the central government is working to ensure that people of all sections can live with identity and dignity. I am happy that he (Sarma) explained to us about the vision of Prime Minister Modi and home minister Amit Shah for Tripura,” said opposition leader Animesh Debbarma.

The TIPRA Motha chief was supposed to sit for fast unto death if the Centre fails to appoint an interlocutor by March 28, but it was withdrawn without any announcement.

He, earlier, announced that Shah had assured to appoint an interlocutor by March 27 to start discussions on the issue.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held their meeting with the TIPRA Motha in the presence of Shah and other central leaders at Agartala on March 8 after the swearing-in ceremony of the BJP ministers including chief minister Manik Saha.

The TIPRA Motha was floated in 2021 keeping Greater Tipraland demand in the forefront. Two months after its formation, the party replaced the CPI(M) from power in the 28-seated Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council ( TTAADC).

The BJP bagged single majority by winning 32 seats and its ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura ( IPFT) got one seat in the recently concluded Assembly polls.

The CPI(M) secured 11 seats but lost its main opposition tag while the Congress bagged three seats.

Currently, the BJP has 31 seats as Union Minister of state for Social Justice and Empowerment who won from Dhanpur seat, resigned to retain her central minister’s post.

Dhanpur was home turf of former chief minister Manik Sarkar.