Pradyot Debbarma says Centre considering implementation of Tiprasa Accord, expresses confidence ahead of ADC polls

Tipra Motha Party (TMP) founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarma on Monday, January 12 said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are actively considering the implementation of the Tiprasa Accord to safeguard the rights of Tripura’s indigenous communities, even as resistance persists within certain sections of the BJP’s state leadership.

Addressing the media at Kamalpur in Dhalai district, Debbarma stated that while the Centre appeared committed to honouring the accord, “a few BJP leaders in Agartala seem opposed to the move.” The Tiprasa Accord was signed in March 2024 between the TMP, the Centre, and the Tripura government, with a stated objective of ensuring the overall development and protection of indigenous people.

Tripura is home to nearly 15 lakh indigenous people belonging to over 40 tribes and sub-tribes, out of a total population of around 40 lakh, making tribal rights a central political issue in the state.

Debbarma exuded confidence about his party’s prospects in the upcoming Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections, scheduled for March. “We are 110 per cent sure of winning the ADC elections. I have been working for the Tiprasa people continuously for the past five years,” he asserted.

Recalling the formation of the TTAADC under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in 1982, the TMP chief said that then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had supported granting special status to tribal areas, despite opposition from certain Congress leaders in Agartala. “Ultimately, Indira Gandhi overruled the state leadership and ensured the inclusion of Tripura’s tribal areas under the Sixth Schedule. The TTAADC was constituted on January 15, 1982,” he noted.

Emphasising his political stand, Debbarma clarified that TMP was not opposed to any community. “We are not against anyone. Our sole objective is to secure the rights of the Tiprasa people. I entered politics to protect the rights of future generations,” he said.

Taking a swipe at Chief Minister Manik Saha, Debbarma also responded to remarks urging the regional party to behave like a “junior brother” within the BJP-led alliance. “I do not have an elder brother, only an elder sister. In politics, there is no big brother or younger brother — everyone is equal,” he remarked.

The Chief Minister had made the comment during a party programme at Baijalbari in Khowai district on December 23, amid tensions between the BJP and TMP following reported attacks on BJP workers.

With the ADC elections approaching, Debbarma’s remarks underline the growing political churn within the ruling alliance and sharpen the focus on the future of the Tiprasa Accord and indigenous rights in Tripura.