Tripura Congress seeks white paper on militants surrender

Agartala: The Tripura Congress on Friday demanded a white paper from the state government regarding the recent surrender ceremony of NLFT and ATTF cadres, along with detailed information.

They also urged the government to announce a package for those displaced due to past insurgency activities.

Addressing a press conference, Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Asish Kumar Saha said the Congress fully supports steps taken to maintain peace in the state.

"On September 4, a peace pact was signed with NLFT and ATTF, and a large number of cadres surrendered on the 14th of the month. After the BJP formed the government, then Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb declared that terrorist activities had been completely eradicated from the state. There is no presence of terrorism, and the current Chief Minister Manik Saha, has also acknowledged this," he said.

Saha pointed out that, over the past few years, people have not witnessed insurgency activities. However, all of a sudden, 584 cadres of NLFT and ATTF surrendered.

"At a time when around 20 lakh people were affected by floods, causing losses amounting to more than Rs 15,000 crore, there has been no significant response from the state or central government," Saha said

"Moreover, the number of arms surrendered was far less than the number of individuals who surrendered. No one knows what kind of insurgency activities they were involved in. Despite this, a massive package was announced for the surrendered cadres, but no package has been provided for the flood-affected people," he added.

Saha further demanded that the state government publish a white paper on the recent surrender of insurgents.

The Congress leader said that many people were killed, displaced, or lost their livelihoods due to insurgency, yet there has been no relief or resettlement package for them.

"We are demanding resettlement and a package for those who were displaced during the insurgency," he added.