Tripura BJP tears into Tipra Motha, asks ally to come clean 

Agartala: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Tripura on Monday launched a scathing attack on its junior ally, Tipra Motha Party, and asked it to come clean before pointing fingers at others.

Criticizing the recent statements of the Tipra Motha leaders at the much-talked-about One North East rally, BJP leaders branded it as yet another ploy to deceive gullible voters.

“On one hand, Tipra Motha Party demands a constitutional solution for the people and keeps hitting out at the state government for whatever happens in the TTAADC. On the other hand, their leaders issue open threats against other political parties who are keen to ratchet up their activities in the ADC areas. Despite being a constitutional body, TTAADC has flouted the constitutional norm of conducting regular audits of the accounts. The party governing the TTAADC is not bothered about transparency and accountability. The Comptroller and Auditor General has written a letter regarding the ongoing shady activities,” former MP and senior BJP leader Rebati Tripura told reporters on Monday.

Describing the proposed ‘One North East’ as yet another attempt to draw the attention of the public, Tripura said, "Nowadays, the slogan of Greater Tipraland seems to have been erased from the dictionary of Tipra Motha. Only a handful of leaders, who have their small political parties in different states, have initiated this collective approach, which lacks substance. Moreover, it is quite hard for Tipra Motha to again draw the attention of the voters with their previous slogans, which have recently run out of steam."

According to Tripura, a lot of things said and passively perceived in the public meeting held at Agartala had been extremely provocative in nature. “Minister Animesh Debbarma said the key objective of forming a regional party is to prevent national parties. Pradyot Kishore Debbarman, on the other hand, says otherwise. A lot of statements made in the meeting are self-contradictory. We are very concerned after observing the sinister design symptomatic of a conspiracy to exploit ethnic faultlines and trigger a riot-like situation,” he added.

He also condemned Tipra Motha’s act of welcoming an ex-militant like Utpal Debbarma into the party amid much fanfare and warmth.

Speaking at the same press conference, Tripura BJP Vice President Bimal Chakma slammed Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma for the delay in the passage of the 125th constitutional amendment Bill.

“Tripura has already approved all the recommendations of the 125th Constitutional Amendment Bill. But Meghalaya had opposed the formation of elected bodies at the rural level under the Sixth Schedule. Unlike Tripura, Meghalaya doesn’t have elected bodies at the rural level under the Sixth Schedule areas. They had opposed the creation of elected bodies which would replace the existing non-elected Darbar system. And, in Tripura, he demands the 125th constitutional amendment,” Chakma explained.