States »EasPosted at: Jul 22 2021 6:08PM Tripura BJP’s ally IPFT delegation left for Delhi after Amit Shah summons
Agartala, Jul 22 (UNI) Amidst speculation of cabinet expansion with the change of guard in the government and in ruling BJP in Tripura, ally of the government Indigenous Peoples’ Front of
Tripura (IPFT) summoned on Thursday to meet union home minister Amit Shah, a day after
the return of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb from a week-long Delhi visit.
A three members delegation of IPFT led by it’s General Secretary and Tribal Welfare Minister
of the state Mevar Kr Jamatia left the state in the morning to hold discussion with Shah at night. Although IPFT claimed the invitation was a delayed response from Shah over a month back
request of the party for discussion on their contentious issues related to development of tribal community, BJP leaders considered the move as significant for strengthening BJP in the
assembly.
The IPFT spokesperson Mangal Debbarma said MLA Prashanta Debbarma and party’s assistant general secretary Jiten Debbarma besides, Mevar would hold discussion on their core demand of creation of Tipraland based on 6th scheduled areas in order to protect the crisis of identity of the indigenous people of the state.
Apart from that IPFT has been waiting for the recommendation of a high power modality committee constituted by the home ministry for socio-economic, cultural and linguistic development of the tribal as per the pre-poll agreement of BJP and IPFT before 2018 assembly elections. The committee had made several deliberations but not published the recommendations in three years by which a development plan would be finalised for the tribals and during the meeting Shah would be asked to do it immediately.
He said the IPFT has been persuading for a special recruitment drive for scheduled tribes for filling
up the vacancies about 20,000 posts in various government departments and the matter would also be discussed in the meeting seeking his personal intervention.
The union cabinet had approved the 6th schedule amendment bill in January 2019 to elevate Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (ADC) to Tripura Territorial Council but has not yet been passed in the parliament, which would also discuss in the meeting along with inclusion of Kokborok dialect in the 8th schedule of the constitution, Debbarma added.
Meanwhile, BJP sources indicated that after royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarman’s Tipra Motha won the ADC, IPFT has lost their ground and faced a threat of it’s existence, as in the first session of ADC Tipra Motha passed Greater Tipraland bill and sent it to the state government for it’s assent in the assembly. Meantime, IPFT MLA Brishaketu Debbarma resigned and joined Tipra Motha, which deepened the crisis in IPFT further.
With the resignation of Brishaketu, strength of IPFT in the assembly has reduced to seven and many of them are persuading to join Tipra Motha, which would consider to be a threat to BJP because a
large number of MLAs opposing Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, said a senior BJP leader adding, “We are trying to bring at least two-three IPFT MLAs in our fold before it merged with Tipra Motha like two decades old INPT.”
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