The Indigenous People's Front of Tripura on Wednesday lashed out at its coalition partner BJP for adopting violent means to prevent its candidates from filing nominations for the three-tier panchayat by-elections in the State.
The party also issued a fresh threat that it was not eschewing its demand for a separate tribal State and announced to strive hard to achieve ‘Twipraland’.
“We are very much surprised over violent incidents committed with the sole intention of preventing our candidates from submitting nomination papers. We request the State Election Commission to reschedule election in areas where the poll process was disturbed,” IPFT assistant general secretary and party spokesperson Mangal Debbarma told reporters after a meeting of the coordination committee comprising the IPFT and its front organisations.
The meeting passed a resolution to appeal to the BJP for a discussion on all outstanding issues for the smooth functioning of the coalition government in the State.
Statewide movement
The party announced that it would coordinate with allied groups to launch a State-wide movement to press the demand for ‘Twipraland’. “The nature of the movement will be decided shortly by the coordination committee,” Mr. Debbarma added.
The BJP deplored the statements of the IPFT and blamed it for the violence across the State. It said that several BJP leaders, including a party MLA, his spouse, and supporters, were injured in the incidents, which call for intervention of the security forces.
The IPFT and the BJP had tied up for the Assembly elections in the State to rout the CPI(M)-led Left Front. However, they are fighting separately in the panchayat bypolls.
In a related development, the CPI(M) continued its protest over pre-poll violence in the State. The party leaders and cadres staged a protest outside the office of the State Election Commission on Wednesday.
The three-tier panchayat by-elections in Tripura will be held on September 30.