Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday asserted that the opposition Tipra Motha has raised the demand for a separate state for tribals to mislead the indigenous people.
Without naming the Tipra Motha, Saha told a conference of the heads of all indigenous tribes that the BJP-led government will spend Rs 5000 crore for their welfare, and not Rs 600 crore as claimed by the opposition party.
“If anybody comes and highlights the problems, we will surely address these troubles. But divide and rule politics will not be tolerated,” the chief minister said at the conference. Saha’s statement came weeks after A K Mishra, the advisor of the Ministry of Home Affairs for Northeast, held a meeting in New Delhi with a delegation of the Tipra Motha which has been demanding a separate Greater Tipraland state for tribals.
The concept of ‘Greater Tipraland’ has not been specified, though it is supposed to include parts of several other northeastern states and Bangladesh, besides Tripura. “The slogan for Tipraland was raised to mislead the people... We have seen crocodile tears for 30 years (Left regime) to achieve political goals. They used the tribal vote bank politics,” the chief minister said.
Saha asserted that the northeastern state will not be developed leaving behind its indigenous people who comprise 32 per cent of its total population. “There should not be any division among the people as we all are united to achieve Ek Tripura Shrestha Tripura (One Tripura Great Tripura),” he said.
“They (Tipra Motha) are saying that the state government has given only Rs 600 crore to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), but the reality is Rs 5000 crore will be spent for the welfare of the indigenous tribes,” Saha said. In the TTAADC election held in April 2021, Tipra Motha bagged 18 of the 28 seats that went to polls and the ruling BJP is in the opposition in the Council.
Saha said the northeastern state witnessed massive development since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014.
