News Analysis India

Tag: Tipra Motha

  • ‘Kushti’ in Kerala, ‘dosti’ in Tripura: PM Modi attacks Cong-CPI(M) alliance

    By PTI

    TRIPURA: Lashing out at the Congress-CPI(M) alliance in Tripura, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the two parties fight ‘kushti’ (wrestling) in Kerala and have done ‘dosti’ (friendship) in the northeastern state.

    Making a veiled reference to Tipra Motha, Modi claimed that some other parties were also helping the opposition alliance from behind but any vote for them will take Tripura several years backward.

    “Old players of misgovernance have joined hands for ‘chanda’ (donation). Those fighting ‘kushti’ (wrestling) in Kerala have done ‘dosti’ (friendship) in Tripura,” the PM said at an election rally in Radhakishorepur in Gomati district.

    “The opposition wants to divide the votes. Some small ‘vote-cutter’ parties are waiting for the election results, hoping to get their price. Those out with dreams of horse-trading, lock them in their homes now itself,” he said.

    Addressing another election rally in Ambassa in Dhalai district earlier in the day, he alleged that the Left and Congress governments created division among tribals, while the BJP worked to resolve their issues, including that of the Brus.

    “The BJP is working for the upliftment of tribals across India. We have rehabilitated in Tripura over 37,000 Brus displaced from Mizoram. Our government has introduced tribal language Kokborok in higher education,” he said.

    In the Union budget, the BJP government at the Centre has allocated Rs 1 lakh crore for the development of tribal areas, Modi said.

    Referring to the fight against COVID-19, he said, “In a Left-ruled state, a lot of people suffered of coronavirus and died, but Tripura was safe as the BJP worked for protecting people’s lives.

    “Appealing to the people to vote for the ‘double-engine’ government to continue the streak of development in the northeastern state, he told the rally, “Beware of the double-edged sword of Congress and Left, they want to stop all schemes that benefit the people.

    “The PM said the Congress and Left know only how to betray the poor, alleging that people have suffered due to years of their misgovernance.The two parties want the poor to remain poor. They have countless slogans for the poor but have never understood or addressed their pain,” Modi said.

    The PM said that houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana were built for three lakh families, benefitting 12 lakh people, while five lakh poor people were made beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, and toilets were constructed in four lakh houses in the state.

    The first dental college in the state was also built under the BJP government, he said.

    The PM said that in Gomati district alone, Rs 80 crore has been credited to the bank accounts of around 40,000 farmers, without any ‘cut’ or ‘donation’.

    “Earlier, CPI(M) cadres used to control police stations, while the BJP established rule of law in the state,” he said.

    Modi asserted that the BJP has freed Tripura from the atmosphere of fear and a culture of ‘chanda’ (donations).

    “Earlier, the condition of women in the state was miserable. Now, they can come out of their homes with heads held high,” he said.

    The PM said that as there is peace in Tripura, employment opportunities are also increasing, whereas the Left and Congress had shattered the dreams of the youths, forcing many to migrate.

    “Your votes will keep the Leftists away from power and ensure the continuance of ‘double-engine’ government in Tripura,” he added.

    Listing the initiatives taken by his government for the development of the state, Modi said that Tripura’s economy will massively benefit from the Act East policy of the Centre and it will soon become the gateway to Southeast Asia.

    “Work on four-laning of road from Agartala to Churaibari is underway at a fast rate, while a new airport was inaugurated in the state capital, while optical fibres have been laid throughout the state for better internet services and waterways and railway connectivity between Tripura and Bangladesh is being strengthened,” he said.

    Modi said that the BJP government at the Centre has increased budget allocation for Northeast by several times.

    TRIPURA: Lashing out at the Congress-CPI(M) alliance in Tripura, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the two parties fight ‘kushti’ (wrestling) in Kerala and have done ‘dosti’ (friendship) in the northeastern state.

    Making a veiled reference to Tipra Motha, Modi claimed that some other parties were also helping the opposition alliance from behind but any vote for them will take Tripura several years backward.

    “Old players of misgovernance have joined hands for ‘chanda’ (donation). Those fighting ‘kushti’ (wrestling) in Kerala have done ‘dosti’ (friendship) in Tripura,” the PM said at an election rally in Radhakishorepur in Gomati district.

    “The opposition wants to divide the votes. Some small ‘vote-cutter’ parties are waiting for the election results, hoping to get their price. Those out with dreams of horse-trading, lock them in their homes now itself,” he said.

    Addressing another election rally in Ambassa in Dhalai district earlier in the day, he alleged that the Left and Congress governments created division among tribals, while the BJP worked to resolve their issues, including that of the Brus.

    “The BJP is working for the upliftment of tribals across India. We have rehabilitated in Tripura over 37,000 Brus displaced from Mizoram. Our government has introduced tribal language Kokborok in higher education,” he said.

    In the Union budget, the BJP government at the Centre has allocated Rs 1 lakh crore for the development of tribal areas, Modi said.

    Referring to the fight against COVID-19, he said, “In a Left-ruled state, a lot of people suffered of coronavirus and died, but Tripura was safe as the BJP worked for protecting people’s lives.

    “Appealing to the people to vote for the ‘double-engine’ government to continue the streak of development in the northeastern state, he told the rally, “Beware of the double-edged sword of Congress and Left, they want to stop all schemes that benefit the people.

    “The PM said the Congress and Left know only how to betray the poor, alleging that people have suffered due to years of their misgovernance.The two parties want the poor to remain poor. They have countless slogans for the poor but have never understood or addressed their pain,” Modi said.

    The PM said that houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana were built for three lakh families, benefitting 12 lakh people, while five lakh poor people were made beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, and toilets were constructed in four lakh houses in the state.

    The first dental college in the state was also built under the BJP government, he said.

    The PM said that in Gomati district alone, Rs 80 crore has been credited to the bank accounts of around 40,000 farmers, without any ‘cut’ or ‘donation’.

    “Earlier, CPI(M) cadres used to control police stations, while the BJP established rule of law in the state,” he said.

    Modi asserted that the BJP has freed Tripura from the atmosphere of fear and a culture of ‘chanda’ (donations).

    “Earlier, the condition of women in the state was miserable. Now, they can come out of their homes with heads held high,” he said.

    The PM said that as there is peace in Tripura, employment opportunities are also increasing, whereas the Left and Congress had shattered the dreams of the youths, forcing many to migrate.

    “Your votes will keep the Leftists away from power and ensure the continuance of ‘double-engine’ government in Tripura,” he added.

    Listing the initiatives taken by his government for the development of the state, Modi said that Tripura’s economy will massively benefit from the Act East policy of the Centre and it will soon become the gateway to Southeast Asia.

    “Work on four-laning of road from Agartala to Churaibari is underway at a fast rate, while a new airport was inaugurated in the state capital, while optical fibres have been laid throughout the state for better internet services and waterways and railway connectivity between Tripura and Bangladesh is being strengthened,” he said.

    Modi said that the BJP government at the Centre has increased budget allocation for Northeast by several times.

  • Three-way fight will help Left-Congress alliance in Tripura polls: Sitaram Yechury

    By PTI

    AGARTALA: The three-cornered fight that is unfolding in the tiny but politically crucial state of Tripura will help the Left-Congress alliance in the upcoming assembly elections, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

    The Communist leader told PTI that local-level leaders will make an assessment to see “who is best able to defeat the BJP”, while looking at possible adjustments with other parties (such as Tipra Motha) in the run up to the polls slated for February 16.

    “The BJP (and its ally IPFT) had won 18 seats in the last elections out of 20 seats in the tribal areas,” pointed out Yechury.

    In the 60-member Tripura assembly, 20 seats are reserved for tribal areas. The BJP had won a total of 36 seats to form a government in 2018, with half of them coming from the tribal region.

    “This time the Tipra Motha is at the forefront in tribal areas. The IPFT is now just a rump and BJP has given them only 5 seats. The advantage that BJP got last time won’t be repeated. That should help the Left-Congress alliance,” he explained.

    Analysts here tend to agree with CPI(M)’s assessment that with the rise of the Tipra Motha, a party founded by Pradyut Kishore Manikya Debbarma, a scion of the former royal family of the state and a Tripuri, BJP’s vote and seat share in tribal areas will be drastically reduced.

    In the last elections, BJP had a 43.59-per cent vote share compared to CPI(M)’s 42.22 per cent and Congress’s couple of percentage points.

    “We will gain from it,” asserted Yechury.

    In 2018, the BJP had stormed to power, gobbling up most of the Congress vote that in 2013 was nearly 37 per cent and partially into the CPI(M)’s vote bank, which was 48 per cent in 2013.

    Tipra Motha had won a majority in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council in 2021, trouncing the BJP-supported IPFT.

    Since then its demand for Greater Tipraland has consolidated its hold over tribals and seen large-scale desertions from IPFT to its ranks.

    With the expected reduction in tribal votes (which accounts for nearly a third of the state’s total) for the BJP, the Left believes the alliance led by it stands to gain an advantage in the forthcoming elections.

    The elections to this tiny state’s assembly are considered important as political pundits see the possibility of a tough contest between the ruling party and the opposition, the first in a year of polls to elect state governments.

    Till 2018, the electoral contest in the state was largely between the Congress and CPI(M), with smaller tribal parties playing minor but at times crucial roles.

    With both the erstwhile Maharaja and Maharani, having been Congress MPs (Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya Deb Barman Bahadur won three terms in Lok Sabha – 1967, 1977 and 1989 – while his wife Bibhu Kumari Devi won in 1981), the grand old party had a strong presence in the tribal belt.

    However, legendary tribal Communist leaders like Dasarath Debbarma, who became a popular chief minister of the state and Jitendra Choudhury, a possible Left candidate for chief ministership in this election, have ensured that the CPI(M), too, has a huge presence in the tribal belt where Tripuris, Reangs, Jamatias, Chakmas, Mogs, Kuki and others live.

    “At the ground level, who will be able to defeat the BJP, that assessment will be made by ground-level leaders,” Yechury said, explaining his statement made earlier at a press conference that though there is no pre-poll adjustment with Tipra Motha, there can be a local-level understanding.

    “That is why I said there is a likelihood at that point of time because the people will decide who can achieve this objective (of defeating the BJP),” he said, without committing to any further elaboration on ground-level adjustments that may be made.

    He also explained the visible resurgence of the CPI(M) as a result of among other things, his party’s ‘consistent opposition to repression unleashed” by the BJP government.

    “CPI(M) was the most consistent in opposing the repression unleashed on the people and that has been recognised by the people,” Yechury said.

    He also added that the “people have realised the necessity of unifying all secular and democratic forces in order to ensure the BJP government is removed”.

    The CPI(M), which suffered attacks on its party offices and workers in the past and desertions by some of its workers to BJP, has been more than visible in the assembly elections.

    Hammer and sickle red flags dotting the countryside, convoys of trucks and motorcycles ferrying supporters of the SFI (the Communist students’ wing) and CPI(M) activists wearing red t-shirts are part of the landscape.

    Speaking on the possibility of post-poll negotiations, Yechury said, “Let us see” the first battle to be won is on the 16th (February, the election date). The second battle will emerge on March 2 (counting day). That we will meet then”. 

    AGARTALA: The three-cornered fight that is unfolding in the tiny but politically crucial state of Tripura will help the Left-Congress alliance in the upcoming assembly elections, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

    The Communist leader told PTI that local-level leaders will make an assessment to see “who is best able to defeat the BJP”, while looking at possible adjustments with other parties (such as Tipra Motha) in the run up to the polls slated for February 16.

    “The BJP (and its ally IPFT) had won 18 seats in the last elections out of 20 seats in the tribal areas,” pointed out Yechury.

    In the 60-member Tripura assembly, 20 seats are reserved for tribal areas. The BJP had won a total of 36 seats to form a government in 2018, with half of them coming from the tribal region.

    “This time the Tipra Motha is at the forefront in tribal areas. The IPFT is now just a rump and BJP has given them only 5 seats. The advantage that BJP got last time won’t be repeated. That should help the Left-Congress alliance,” he explained.

    Analysts here tend to agree with CPI(M)’s assessment that with the rise of the Tipra Motha, a party founded by Pradyut Kishore Manikya Debbarma, a scion of the former royal family of the state and a Tripuri, BJP’s vote and seat share in tribal areas will be drastically reduced.

    In the last elections, BJP had a 43.59-per cent vote share compared to CPI(M)’s 42.22 per cent and Congress’s couple of percentage points.

    “We will gain from it,” asserted Yechury.

    In 2018, the BJP had stormed to power, gobbling up most of the Congress vote that in 2013 was nearly 37 per cent and partially into the CPI(M)’s vote bank, which was 48 per cent in 2013.

    Tipra Motha had won a majority in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council in 2021, trouncing the BJP-supported IPFT.

    Since then its demand for Greater Tipraland has consolidated its hold over tribals and seen large-scale desertions from IPFT to its ranks.

    With the expected reduction in tribal votes (which accounts for nearly a third of the state’s total) for the BJP, the Left believes the alliance led by it stands to gain an advantage in the forthcoming elections.

    The elections to this tiny state’s assembly are considered important as political pundits see the possibility of a tough contest between the ruling party and the opposition, the first in a year of polls to elect state governments.

    Till 2018, the electoral contest in the state was largely between the Congress and CPI(M), with smaller tribal parties playing minor but at times crucial roles.

    With both the erstwhile Maharaja and Maharani, having been Congress MPs (Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya Deb Barman Bahadur won three terms in Lok Sabha – 1967, 1977 and 1989 – while his wife Bibhu Kumari Devi won in 1981), the grand old party had a strong presence in the tribal belt.

    However, legendary tribal Communist leaders like Dasarath Debbarma, who became a popular chief minister of the state and Jitendra Choudhury, a possible Left candidate for chief ministership in this election, have ensured that the CPI(M), too, has a huge presence in the tribal belt where Tripuris, Reangs, Jamatias, Chakmas, Mogs, Kuki and others live.

    “At the ground level, who will be able to defeat the BJP, that assessment will be made by ground-level leaders,” Yechury said, explaining his statement made earlier at a press conference that though there is no pre-poll adjustment with Tipra Motha, there can be a local-level understanding.

    “That is why I said there is a likelihood at that point of time because the people will decide who can achieve this objective (of defeating the BJP),” he said, without committing to any further elaboration on ground-level adjustments that may be made.

    He also explained the visible resurgence of the CPI(M) as a result of among other things, his party’s ‘consistent opposition to repression unleashed” by the BJP government.

    “CPI(M) was the most consistent in opposing the repression unleashed on the people and that has been recognised by the people,” Yechury said.

    He also added that the “people have realised the necessity of unifying all secular and democratic forces in order to ensure the BJP government is removed”.

    The CPI(M), which suffered attacks on its party offices and workers in the past and desertions by some of its workers to BJP, has been more than visible in the assembly elections.

    Hammer and sickle red flags dotting the countryside, convoys of trucks and motorcycles ferrying supporters of the SFI (the Communist students’ wing) and CPI(M) activists wearing red t-shirts are part of the landscape.

    Speaking on the possibility of post-poll negotiations, Yechury said, “Let us see” the first battle to be won is on the 16th (February, the election date). The second battle will emerge on March 2 (counting day). That we will meet then”. 

  • Tripura Assembly elections: TIPRA Motha to contest 42 seats

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The TIPRA Motha will contest 42 of Tripura’s 60 seats.

    The tribe-based party released its third list of 12 candidates on the last day of filing nominations on Monday. The first list had the names of 20 candidates and the second, released on Sunday night, had 10 names.

    The TIPRA Motha is influential in the 20 seats reserved for the STs in the tribal areas which make up two/thirds of Tripura. The 22 general seats, where it fielded candidates, have small tribal populations. 

    The party’s prominent candidates include former BJP legislator Ashish Das, former Congress MLA Tapas De, former Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) MLAs Dhananjay Tripura and Brishaketu Debbarma, rebel leader-turned-politician Ranjit Debbarma and former Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council leader Hongso Kumar Tripura.

    None from the state’s royal family, including TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Manikya Debbarma, is contesting. 

    Debbarma, who rose through the ranks in the Congress and served as its state president earlier, said the TIPRA Motha would fight for the “Greater Tipraland” state. The party demands the creation of a separate state for the Tiprasa (Tripura’s ethnic communities) through the bifurcation of the state’s tribal areas.

    “We will keep fighting for our Constitutional demand (Greater Tipraland). If we can achieve it, the development will automatically come (in the tribal areas),” Debbarma told journalists on Monday.  

    “No national political party had ever spoken about development in the tribal areas until we raised the demand. I have realised that if they are not shaken, they will not talk about our issues,” he added.

    The TIPRA Motha is going it alone in the polls after its talks with the BJP failed. It had sought a written assurance on the statehood demand but the BJP-led central government refused to give anything in writing.

    Debbarma wanted BJP ally IPFT to merge with the TIPRA Motha. The idea was to thwart the division of tribal votes and make things difficult for the BJP. However, the saffron party managed to thwart the attempt. It forged a pre-poll alliance with the IPFT as in the last election.

    GUWAHATI: The TIPRA Motha will contest 42 of Tripura’s 60 seats.

    The tribe-based party released its third list of 12 candidates on the last day of filing nominations on Monday. The first list had the names of 20 candidates and the second, released on Sunday night, had 10 names.

    The TIPRA Motha is influential in the 20 seats reserved for the STs in the tribal areas which make up two/thirds of Tripura. The 22 general seats, where it fielded candidates, have small tribal populations. 

    The party’s prominent candidates include former BJP legislator Ashish Das, former Congress MLA Tapas De, former Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) MLAs Dhananjay Tripura and Brishaketu Debbarma, rebel leader-turned-politician Ranjit Debbarma and former Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council leader Hongso Kumar Tripura.

    None from the state’s royal family, including TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Manikya Debbarma, is contesting. 

    Debbarma, who rose through the ranks in the Congress and served as its state president earlier, said the TIPRA Motha would fight for the “Greater Tipraland” state. The party demands the creation of a separate state for the Tiprasa (Tripura’s ethnic communities) through the bifurcation of the state’s tribal areas.

    “We will keep fighting for our Constitutional demand (Greater Tipraland). If we can achieve it, the development will automatically come (in the tribal areas),” Debbarma told journalists on Monday.  

    “No national political party had ever spoken about development in the tribal areas until we raised the demand. I have realised that if they are not shaken, they will not talk about our issues,” he added.

    The TIPRA Motha is going it alone in the polls after its talks with the BJP failed. It had sought a written assurance on the statehood demand but the BJP-led central government refused to give anything in writing.

    Debbarma wanted BJP ally IPFT to merge with the TIPRA Motha. The idea was to thwart the division of tribal votes and make things difficult for the BJP. However, the saffron party managed to thwart the attempt. It forged a pre-poll alliance with the IPFT as in the last election.

  • Former Tripura CM Manik Sarkar slams Tipra Motha, IPFT for ‘turning blind eye’ to people’s hardship

    By PTI

    AGARTALA: Former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Sunday lashed out at regional party Tipra Motha and the IPFT, a constituent of the BJP-led government in the state, for allegedly “turning a blind eye” to the hardship that people are facing and “unrealistic” demand for greater Tipraland.

    The fuel prices have reached an all-time high but the BJP at the Centre has been paying “no heed” to the people’s concern in Parliament, the CPI(M) leader said.

    “It is ridiculous that when fuel price was low worldwide, it was skyrocketing in the country. No one can survive bypassing such a core issue,” he said while speaking at a conference of Tribal Youth Federation, a wing of the Left party.

    He also accused the Tipra Motha and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura of diverting the burning issues by raising the Tipraland demand.

    “Where is the party that had raised Tipraland demand just before the 2018 assembly elections? Ask those people who have raised greater Tipraland to explain the concept of it,” he said.

    Taking a dig at the Tipra Motha on the greater ‘Tipraland’ issue, the former chief minister said, “I heard of their claim that Manipur and Nagaland would come under the ambit of greater Tipraland. Bangladesh’s Chittagong will also be a part of it. Is it a realistic demand? Who will hear your voice.”

    The veteran CPI(M) leader exhorted the ‘tribal saviours’ to work to strengthen the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).

    “Those who consider the TTAADC is a state are living in a fool’s paradise. It is a special arrangement under the sixth schedule of the Constitution. There must be efforts to give more power to the body. Besides, initiatives should be taken to include Kokborok language in the eighth schedule of the Constitution,” he said.

    “Tipraland and greater Tipraland slogans are aimed at dismantling unity” among the weaker section of people so that they could “not raise voice against the burning issues like unemployment, inflation and high fuel prices”, he claimed.

    Sarkar also recalled the history of the ‘Janashiksha Movement’ that had “changed the education system in the tribal belts in the late 70s”.

    “Around 4,000 schools were established across the state with a special focus on tribal-dominated areas. The Janashiksha Movement had played a pivotal role in expanding the education base in tribal areas,” he added.