‘How can I go to the people again?’: Pradyot Debbarma urges Centre to implement Tiprasa accord

Tipra Motha Party (TMP) chief Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma on October 6 urged the Centre to honour its commitment to Tripura's indigenous people and begin implementing the Tiprasa accord, a day after the NDA registered a sweeping victory in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) village committee elections.

The elections were held for 4,594 seats across 587 village committees after a gap of nearly a decade. Official figures showed the TMP winning 3,428 seats, while the BJP secured 859 and its ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) won 33 seats.

Thanking voters for backing the party, Debbarma said the elections would restore elected bodies in villages across the tribal council areas after a prolonged gap.

He said he had pursued the issue of holding the elections first before the Tripura High Court and subsequently the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had directed the State Election Commission to conduct the polls, which were eventually held after 10 years.

With the elections now over, Debbarma said the focus should shift to implementing the Tiprasa accord, signed by the Centre, the Tripura government and the TMP in March 2024 to address the development and other concerns of the state's indigenous population.

Debbarma said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had assured him during a meeting in Delhi that implementation of the accord would begin after Durga Puja, in the presence of Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha.

"We hope the Centre to honour the commitment given to the people of tribal areas," Debbarma said.

He said indigenous people had waited for years for the agreement to be implemented and warned that failing to fulfil the commitment could undermine his ability to seek their support in the 2028 Assembly elections.

Debbarma also stressed that the TMP was not opposed to any community living in Tripura and said maintaining communal harmony was in the larger interest of the state.

At the same time, he called for protection of the indigenous population's legitimate rights, particularly land rights, in the TTAADC areas.

"We are not speaking against any community residing in our small state, but legitimate rights, including land rights, must be protected for the indigenous people in tribal council areas," he said, pointing to protections available in other Sixth Schedule areas of the Northeast.

The TTAADC, which is governed by the TMP, covers nearly two-thirds of Tripura's geographical area.